The use of psychedelics in the treatment of disorders of consciousness. An interview with Olivia Gosseries by Charlotte Martial.

Summary

A compelling frontier in **Psychiatry** explores **psychedelics** for disorders of **consciousness**, including the **persistent vegetative state**. Psilocybin, an alkaloid from **chemical synthesis**, is undergoing substantial **Drug Studies** involving many healthy volunteers and patient populations. Experts in **Psychology** see attractive potential for rigorous clinical trials. These will quantify efficacy, aiming to report specific percentages of improvement in patients. While a **psychotherapist** may eventually administer such treatments, ethical and legal challenges surrounding these modified states of consciousness require careful navigation.

Abstract

In this interview, we discuss the use of psychedelic drugs as a promising treatment in disorders of consciousness. Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, is currently undergoing substantial clinical investigations in healthy volunteers, but also in clinical populations. Recently, experts in the field of psychedelics have addressed the attractive possibility to use such psychedelics on patients suffering from disorders of consciousness. Building on her empirical and theoretical research on disorders of consciousness, Olivia Gosseries gives us her opinion. Implementing rigorous clinical trials with psychedelics on patients with disorders of consciousness will allow their clinical efficacy to be tested. We finish the interview by briefly addressing the ethical and legal challenges and discussing other related non-pathological modified states of consciousness.

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