Engineering Safer Psychedelics for Treating Addiction.
Neuroscience insights January 1, 2021 Jamie Peters, David E Olson 38 citations
Addiction arises from maladaptive neuroplasticity that strengthens reward pathways driving compulsive drug seeking while weakening circuits for executive control. Psychedelics show promise for treating addiction, often attributed to insights gained during hallucinations, but they are also potent psychoplastogens that rapidly rewire the adult brain. Non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens, such as tabernanthalog (TBG), have anti-addictive properties in preclinical models for alcohol and opioid addiction, suggesting hallucinations may not be necessary for therapeutic effects if pathological neural circuitry is repaired. This review discusses implications for addiction treatments and next steps for advancing TBG and related compounds.