Psychedelics and Personality

Clinical trials increasingly report that psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca may help treat mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The mechanisms remain unclear but appear to involve altered brain dynamics in regions dense with serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and changes in personality. This text offers a brief, critical overview of current research, highlighting both the promise and limitations of these studies.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In the past decade, an increasing number of clinical trials are reporting evidence that psychedelics or serotonergic hallucinogens (such as lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and ayahuasca/dimethyltryptamine) could be effective in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The mechanisms responsible for these effects are not fully understood but seem to involve changes in bran dynamics in areas rich in serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and in personality. In the present text, we present a brief and critical overview of the current research in this field, pointing out both promises and limitations of these studies.