Novel psychedelic interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder and their promise for precision medicine.

Psychedelic compounds such as ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin show promise for treating post-traumatic stress disorder by modulating synaptic plasticity and enhancing memory processing and extinction. These interventions may overcome limitations of conventional therapies and, when combined with existing psychotherapies, produce rapid and lasting improvement in chronic symptoms. The review discusses how modern methods for predicting treatment response could enable personalized precision medicine approaches, using quantitative evidence to tailor psychedelic interventions to individual patients.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Novel interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) leverage the psychoactive properties of psychedelic compounds, such as ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and psilocybin, which may overcome limitations of conventional treatments. Through the modulation of pathways involved in synaptic plasticity, psychedelic interventions are believed to enhance the mechanisms underlying memory processing and extinction. Multi-modal approaches to patient care can use existing treatments in combination with psychedelics to improve the efficacy of current psychotherapies, producing rapid and lasting improvement to chronic physiological and psychological symptoms. Modern methods for predicting treatment response will allow clinicians to personalise psychedelic interventions to the individual, capitalising on quantitative evidence to provide precision medical care. This review serves to identify limitations of the current treatment paradigm for PTSD, highlight how emerging psychedelic interventions may offer a solution to these considerations and explore the promise of precision medicine approaches for the future of PTSD treatment.