Diverse therapeutic developments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) indicate common mechanisms of memory modulation.

PTSD is a chronic condition marked by abnormally persistent and distressing memories, with current treatments limited to psychotherapy and two FDA-approved drugs that reduce depression and anxiety but do not produce permanent remission. Early evidence suggests psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, cannabinoids, ayahuasca, and ketamine, especially combined with psychotherapy, may help by increasing trust and enabling modification of trauma-related memories. Research into memory reconsolidation has identified pharmacological targets to disrupt fear memories. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have investigated novel agents such as neuropeptide Y, oxytocin, cannabinoids, and neuroactive steroids. While many drugs show promise in pilot trials, large-scale clinical trials are needed for clinical adoption.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), characterized by abnormally persistent and distressing memories, is a chronic debilitating condition in need of new treatment options. Current treatment guidelines recommend psychotherapy as first line management with only two drugs, sertraline and paroxetine, approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of PTSD. These drugs have limited efficacy as they only reduce symptoms related to depression and anxiety without producing permanent remission. PTSD remains a significant public health problem with high morbidity and mortality requiring major advances in therapeutics. Early evidence has emerged for the beneficial effects of psychedelics particularly in combination with psychotherapy for management of PTSD, including psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, cannabinoids, ayahuasca and ketamine. MDMA and psilocybin reduce barrier to therapy by increasing trust between therapist and patient, thus allowing for modification of trauma related memories. Furthermore, research into the memory reconsolidation mechanisms has allowed for identification of various pharmacological targets to disrupt abnormally persistent memories. A number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have investigated novel and re-purposed pharmacological agents to disrupt fear memory in PTSD. Novel therapeutic approaches like neuropeptide Y, oxytocin, cannabinoids and neuroactive steroids have also shown potential for PTSD treatment. Here, we focus on the role of fear memory in the pathophysiology of PTSD and propose that many of these new therapeutic strategies produce benefits through the effect on fear memory. Evaluation of recent research findings suggests that while a number of drugs have shown promising results in preclinical studies and pilot clinical trials, the evidence from large scale clinical trials would be needed for these drugs to be incorporated in clinical practice.