Classic Psychedelic Drugs: Update on Biological Mechanisms
W Smallridge, John, X Vollenweider, Franz
Pharmacopsychiatry January 25, 2022 DOI: 10.1055/a-1721-2914 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPsychedelics primarily affect serotonergic receptor subtypes in cortico-thalamic and cortico-cortical feedback circuits, modulating excitatory-inhibitory balance and promoting neuroplasticity in brain structures critical for sensation, cognition, emotions, and self-narrative. Neuroimaging studies link subjective psychedelic experiences and alterations in self-referential processing and emotion regulation to distinct changes in brain activity and connectivity across multiple systems. These findings suggest that changes in self-experience, emotional processing, and social cognition may contribute to the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for psychiatric disorders.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Neuroscience Psychedelics Brain chemistry Consciousness Mental health |
| Citations | 107 |
| Key finding | Psychedelics modulate serotonergic feedback circuits and neuroplasticity, with neuroimaging linking subjective experiences and altered self-processing to distinct brain activity changes that may underlie therapeutic effects. |
Abstract
Abstract Renewed interest in the effects of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders warrants a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of these substances. During the past two decades, state-of-the-art studies of animals and humans have yielded new important insights into the molecular, cellular, and systems-level actions of psychedelic drugs. These efforts have revealed that psychedelics affect primarily serotonergic receptor subtypes located in cortico-thalamic and cortico-cortical feedback circuits of information processing. Psychedelic drugs modulate excitatory-inhibitory balance in these circuits and can participate in neuroplasticity within brain structures critical for the integration of information relevant to sensation, cognition, emotions, and the narrative of self. Neuroimaging studies showed that characteristic dimensions of the psychedelic experience obtained through subjective questionnaires as well as alterations in self-referential processing and emotion regulation obtained through neuropsychological tasks are associated with distinct changes in brain activity and connectivity patterns at multiple-system levels. These recent results suggest that changes in self-experience, emotional processing, and social cognition may contribute to the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics.