Uncovering Psychedelics: From Neural Circuits to Therapeutic Applications
Pharmaceuticals January 19, 2025 Marco Bonaso, Letizia Biso, Benedetta Zucchini et al. 13 citations
Psychedelics, known for their cultural and spiritual roles, are emerging as promising therapeutic agents by profoundly altering consciousness, emotional processing, mood, and neural plasticity. They modulate brain connectivity, particularly by enhancing functional connections between sensory areas while reducing connections in associative regions like the default mode network, thereby decreasing rigidity and increasing plasticity. The relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) model and changes in cortico-striatal thalamo-cortical loops help explain these effects. Clinical trials of MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD show significant efficacy in treating treatment-resistant PTSD, depression, and anxiety with favorable safety profiles. However, linking molecular actions to clinical outcomes remains a critical gap needing further research.