Classic psychedelics and the treatment for alcoholism.

Alcohol is a harmful drug, and dependence on it is often resistant to treatment, with no completely effective model available. Classic psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca have shown promising pharmacotherapeutic effects in treating treatment-resistant conditions, including addiction, particularly alcohol dependence. This narrative review examines emerging research on psychedelics for alcohol use disorder treatment. These substances may treat addiction by modulating neuroplasticity in the brain. Since serotonergic psychedelics do not produce physical dependence or withdrawal symptoms with repeated use, they are considered promising treatment options. However, great inter-individual variability exists in the duration of effects, and further studies using different doses and protocols are needed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Alcohol is a harmful drug, and reducing its consumption is a significant challenge for users. Furthermore, alcohol dependence is often treatment-resistant, and no completely effective treatment model is available for chemical dependence. Classic psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca have been used in different clinical and pre-clinical trials, demonstrating promising pharmacotherapeutic effects in the treatment of treatment-resistant psychopathological conditions, such as addiction, especially related to alcohol dependence. In this work, we conducted a narrative review of the emerging research regarding the potential of psychedelics for alcohol use disorder treatment. Psychedelic substances have demonstrated potential for treating drug addiction, especially AUD, mostly by modulating neuroplasticity in the brain. Given that serotonergic psychedelics do not produce physical dependence or withdrawal symptoms with repeated use, they may be considered promising treatment options for managing drug use disorders. However, certain limitations could be found. Although many participants achieve positive results with only one treatment dose in clinical studies, great inter-individual variability exists in the duration of these effects. Therefore, further studies using different doses and experimental protocols should be conducted to enhance evidence about psychedelic substances.