Human minibrains reveal effects of psychedelic substance

Study brings first evidence that psychedelics interfere with molecular signaling related to learning and memory in the human brain tissue. Minibrains, also known as cerebral organoids, have been considered a breakthrough in neuroscience studies

https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2017/10/171009084404_1_540x360.jpg

October 9, 2017

Science Daily/D'Or Institute for Research and Education

A Brazilian study, published in Scientific Reports on October 09, 2017, has identified changes in signaling pathways associated with neural plasticity, inflammation and neurodegeneration triggered by a compound from the family of dimethyltryptamine known as 5-MeO-DMT.

"For the first time we could describe psychedelic related changes in the molecular functioning of human neural tissue," states Stevens Rehen, study leader, Professor of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and Head of Research at D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR).

Though recent studies have demonstrated that psychedelic substances, such as LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide), MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and ayahuasca brew which contains DMT, hold therapeutic potential with possible anti-inflammatory and antidepressant effects, the lack of appropriate biological tools has been shown as a critical limitation for the identification of molecular pathways targeted by psychedelics in the brain.

In order to unveil the effects of 5-MeO-DMT, Vanja Dakic (IDOR) and Juliana Minardi Nascimento (IDOR and University of Campinas) have exposed cerebral organoids, which are 3D cultures of neural cells that mimic a developing human brain, to a single dose of the psychedelic.

By employing mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze cerebral organoids, they identified that 5-MeO-DMT altered the expression of nearly thousand proteins. Then, they mapped which proteins were impacted by the psychedelic substance and their role in the human brain.

Researchers found that proteins important for synaptic formation and maintenance were upregulated. Among them, proteins related to cellular mechanisms of learning and memory, key components of brain functioning.

On the other hand, proteins involved in inflammation, degeneration and brain lesion were downregulated, suggesting a potential neuroprotective role for the psychedelic substance.

"Results suggest that classic psychedelics are powerful inducers of neuroplasticity, a tool of psychobiological transformation that we know very little about," states Sidarta Ribeiro, Director of the Brain Institute of Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and coauthor of the study.

According to Professor Draulio Araujo (UFRN) and coauthor of the study, ""The study suggests possible mechanisms by which these substances exert their antidepressant effects that we have been observing in our studies."

"Our study reinforces the hidden clinical potential of substances that are under legal restrictions, but which deserve attention of medical and scientific communities," Dr. Rehen said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171009084404.htm

Classic psychedelic use protective with regard to psychological distress and suicidality

January 21, 2015

Science Daily/SAGE Publications

Classic psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and mescaline, previously have been shown to occasion lasting improvements in mental health. But researchers led by University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health investigators wanted to advance the existing research and determine whether classic psychedelics might be protective with regard to suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Approximately 30,000 lives in the United States are claimed by suicide every year, and more than 90 percent of victims have been diagnosed with mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Using data from more than 190,000 respondents of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008-2012, the researchers found that those who reported ever having used a classic psychedelic drug in their lifetime had a decreased likelihood of psychological distress in the past month, and decreased suicidal thinking, planning and attempts in the past year.

"Despite advances in mental health treatments, suicide rates generally have not declined in the past 60 years. Novel and potentially more effective interventions need to be explored," said Peter S. Hendricks, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior and lead study author. "This study sets the stage for future research to test the efficacy of classic psychedelics in addressing suicidality as well as pathologies associated with increased suicide risk (e.g., affective disturbance, addiction and impulsive-aggressive personality traits)."

Hendricks says the take-home message from this study is that classic psychedelics may hold great promise in the prevention of suicide and evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness of classic psychedelics should be a priority for future research.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150121093544.htm

LSD Finds New Respectability

September 1, 2005

Science Daily/McMaster University

It was the drug of choice on university campuses, the drug that spawned psychedelic culture as well as countless jail sentences and fines, but LSD actually has respectable roots—roots that a McMaster University researcher is uncovering.

"Far from being fringe medical research, trials of LSD were once a legitimate branch of psychiatric research," explains Erika Dyck, a doctoral researcher in the Department of History at McMaster. "LSD produced a "model psychosis," meaning people who took the drug exhibited symptoms of illnesses such as schizophrenia. Doctors used this as a new method for studying mental illness."

In a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Dyck traces the history of LSD—and its eventual withdrawal from medical research. LSD, ord-lysergic acid diethylamide, first appeared in scientific literature in 1943. For nearly a decade, it gave psychiatrists insight into experiences of schizophrenic patients and showed potential as a cure for alcoholism.

In the 1960s, as the media increasingly associated the drug with love-ins, anti-war demonstrations and the counterculture, governments intervened to criminalize LSD, restricting and then terminating medical research into its potential therapeutic effects.

Now, therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs are resurfacing. Research groups in the United States are currently examining the usefulness of MDMA, or "ecstasy," in treating pain in medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease and cancer.

This makes Dyck optimistic that LSD may become a valid area of research again. "Many illegal drugs are used in medical settings. Scientists who studied LSD made important contributions to psychiatry, and found it helped many people cope with mental illness."

Dyck discovered another interesting fact while researching LSD: The term "psychedelic”, it turns out, was a Canadian invention – coined in Weyburn, Sask. in the 1950s.

The paper is available online at 

www.cpa-apc.org/Publications/Archives/CJP/2005/june/InRevDyck.asp.

McMaster University, named Canada's Research University of the Year by Research Info Source, has world-renowned faculty, and state-of-the-art research facilities. McMaster's culture of innovation fosters a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University has a student population of more than 23,000, and an alumni population of more than 115,000 in 128 countries.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050901073759.htm