Current status and future prospects of research on psilocybin's regulation of neurotransmitters and their receptors related to the pathogenesis of tinnitus.
Hearing research August 1, 2026 Shuhan Lu, Zhixin Zhang, Xinmiao Xue et al.
Tinnitus, the perception of sound without an external source, lacks effective treatments. Psilocybin, a psychedelic, shows promise by activating 5-HT2A receptors, boosting glutamate release, and upregulating BDNF, which increases dendritic spine density and synaptic proteins in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, restoring neural plasticity. This review connects these neuroplasticity mechanisms to tinnitus-related neural changes, highlighting psilocybin's regulatory effects on excitatory (glutamate, dopamine) and inhibitory (GABA) neurotransmitters and their receptors, suggesting a novel therapeutic pathway.