What is Psychedelics
and what are the effects that occur to brain?
Antidepressant
medication is ineffective in up to 30% of patients with depression. This could
be due to patient variances in biology as well as the fact that medications
often take a long time to work, with some people quitting after a while. As a
result, there is a pressing need to broaden the pharmacological options
available to those suffering from depression.
Psychedelics,
such as psilocybin, the key ingredient in "magic mushrooms," have
received a lot of attention in recent years. Despite the fact that a number of
clinical trials have shown that psilocybin can effectively cure depression,
particularly cancer-related anxiety and despair, little is known about how
psilocybin acts in the brain to alleviate depression.
Antidepressant
medication is ineffective in up to 30% of patients with depression. This could
be due to patient variances in biology as well as the fact that medications
often take a long time to work, with some people quitting after a while. As a
result, there is a pressing need to broaden the pharmacological options
available to those suffering from depression.
Psychedelics,
such as psilocybin, the key ingredient in "magic mushrooms," have
received a lot of attention in recent years. Despite the fact that a number of
clinical trials have shown that psilocybin can effectively cure depression,
particularly cancer-related anxiety and despair, little is known about how
psilocybin acts in the brain to alleviate depression.
The
brain's "default mode network" usually includes an active connection
between these two brain locations. When we rest and focus inwards, whether
reminiscing about the past, imagining the future, or thinking about ourselves
or others, this network is active. Psilocybin may be loosening the restrictions
of the internal "self" by reducing network activity, with users
experiencing an "opened mind" and greater perception of the world
around them.
Rumination,
or being "stuck" in negative thoughts, especially about oneself, is a
defining feature of depression. We also know that patients with higher levels
of negative rumination had more activity in the default mode network than in other
networks at rest, making them less sensitive to their surroundings. It's
unclear if these changes in activity are caused by depression symptoms or if
those who have a more active default mode network are more likely to be
depressed.
New
results
A
double-blind randomised controlled trial (the gold-standard of clinical studies)
compared a group of depressed people taking psilocybin to those taking the
existing antidepressant drug escitalopram – something that had never been done
before – provided the most compelling evidence of how psilocybin works. The
trial was subsequently investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) brain scans, and the results were compared to other fMRI findings from a
recent clinical trial.
fMRI
measurements demonstrated an overall increase in connection across the brain's
various networks just one day after the initial dose of psilocybin, which is
generally lowered in patients with severe depression. The default mode
network's size was reduced at the same time that its connectivity to other
networks was expanded, confirming prior, smaller research.
Some
persons had a greater increase in connectedness as a result of the dose than
others. However, the patients who had the highest increase in network
connectivity also had the greatest improvement in their symptoms six months
later, according to the study.
Six
weeks after starting treatment, the brains of persons taking escitalopram
exhibited no change in the connection between the default mode and other brain
networks. It's feasible that escitalopram will cause alterations at some point
in the future. However, because psilocybin's antidepressant effect takes action
quickly, it may be great for people who don't respond to other antidepressants.
The
researchers believe that psilocybin's effect is due to psilocybin's more
concentrated activity on brain receptors known as "serotonergic 5-HT2A
receptors" than escitalopram. Serotonin activates these receptors, which
are found in all network brain areas, including the default mode network. We
already know that psilocybin's amount of binding to these receptors causes
psychedelic effects. However, it remains to be shown how their activation
causes changes in network connectivity.
Are
traditional antidepressants on their way out?
This
raises the question of whether changing brain network activity is required for
depression treatment. Many people who take standard antidepressants claim that
their symptoms improve even when they don't take them. In fact, both groups
reported improvement in their symptoms six weeks after starting treatment,
according to the study.
However,
psilocybin had the largest effect on total mental wellness, according to
several depression rating systems. In addition, when comparing individuals
treated with psilocybin to those treated with escitalopram, a higher proportion
of patients treated with psilocybin demonstrated a clinical response (70 per
cent versus 48 per cent). At six weeks, more patients in the psilocybin group remained
in remission (57 per cent versus 28 per cent). The fact that some patients do
not respond to psilocybin or relapse following therapy demonstrates how tough
depression treatment may be.
Furthermore,
both therapy groups received care from mental health specialists during and
after the trial. Psilocybin's success is highly reliant on the circumstances in
which it is consumed. This indicates that self-medicating with it is a poor
idea. Patients were also carefully chosen for psilocybin-assisted therapy based
on their medical history to avoid psychosis and other negative side effects.
Despite
the drawbacks, these trials are extremely promising and get us closer to
broadening the therapeutic options for depression patients. Furthermore,
internalised negative thought processes are not limited to people who are
depressed. Other diseases, like as addiction or anxiety, may benefit from
psilocybin-assisted therapy in the future.