Psychedelics plus psychotherapy can trigger rapid changes in the brain − new research at the level of neurons is untangling how
Learning new skills correlates with changes in the brain, as evidenced by neuroscience research with animals and functional brain scans in people.
- Learning new skills correlates with changes in the brain, as evidenced by neuroscience research with animals and functional brain scans in people.
- Presumably, if you master Calculus 1, something is now different in your brain.
- Clinicians and scientists know there are times the brain can make rapid, enduring changes.
- And here’s where it gets really interesting: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy appears to tap into this natural neural mechanism.
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy
- However, it can be conceptualized as an altered state of consciousness with distortions of perception, modified sense of self and rapidly changing emotions.
- Presumably there is a relaxation of the higher brain control, which allows deeper brain thoughts and feelings to emerge into conscious awareness.
- Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy combines the psychology of talk therapy with the power of a psychedelic experience.
- Researchers have described cases in which subjects report profound, personally transformative experiences after one six-hour session with the psychedelic substance psilocybin, taken in conjunction with psychotherapy.
A mechanism for psychedelic-induced change
- Psychedelics such as DMT, the active chemical in the plant-based psychedelic ayahuasca, stimulate a receptor cell type, called 5-HT2A.
- It’s only the 5-HT2A receptor inside the cell that facilitates rapid change in neuronal structure.
- And it’s possible psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy uses this naturally occurring neural mechanism to facilitate healing.
A word of caution
- The friend had a mystical experience and came away feeling deeper connections to her family and friends.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 did approve ketamine, in conjunction with an antidepressant, to treat depression in adults.
- Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with MDMA (often called ecstasy or molly) for PTSD and psilocybin for depression are in Phase 3 trials.