A Brief Historical Overview of Psychedelic Research.

Classic serotonergic psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline profoundly alter mood, thought, perception, and self-experience. Their use spans cultural rituals and healing practices. Modern research into their effects has been closely linked to studies of the neurotransmitter serotonin, with early hypotheses supported by animal and human studies. While early attempts to use psychedelics as psychotomimetics to model psychosis had limited success, recent work explores them as psychotherapeutic agents. Even one or two treatments have produced robust and sustained reductions in clinical symptoms across psychiatric disorders, sparking renewed interest in their mechanisms.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Classical serotonergic psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide or the naturally occurring compounds psilocybin and mescaline produce profound changes in mood, thought, intuition, sensory perception, the experience of time and space, and even the experience of self. Research examining psychedelic compounds has had a complex and turbulent evolution. Many cultures throughout the world have used psychedelic plants not only for mystical, ritualistic, or divinatory purposes but also for curing illnesses. Much of the genesis and progress of modern investigations into the effects and underlying mechanisms of action of psychedelics have been intertwined with studies of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Early hypotheses that serotonergic systems mediate psychedelic effects were supported initially by preclinical animal studies and subsequently confirmed by pharmacological studies in healthy humans. The use of psychedelic compounds as putative psychotomimetics that reproduce some features of naturally occurring psychotic disorders met with some limited success. More recent studies are exploring psychedelics as potential psychotherapeutic agents. Recent indications that even 1 or 2 psychedelic treatments produce robust and sustained reductions in clinical symptoms in a variety of psychiatric disorders have prompted an enormous resurgence of interest in the nature and mechanisms contributing to their effects.