Beating pain with psychedelics: Matter over mind?
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 16, 2021 Igor Elman, Amanda C. Pustilnik, David Borsook 26 citations
About 70% of chronic neuropathic pain patients do not respond to opioids or other conventional analgesics. A growing body of clinical observations over the past decade suggests that psychedelic drugs may help understand and treat chronic pain conditions. This review presents a theoretical framework for the neuroscience-based mechanisms of psychedelics' potential analgesic effects, covering studies on psychedelics for physical and emotional pain, neuro-restorative effects on impaired brain connectivity and dendritic plasticity, anti-neuroinflammatory and pro-immunomodulatory actions, and safety, legal, and ethical considerations. Including psychedelics in the analgesic toolkit could also deepen insights into comorbid psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety.