Psychedelic drugs reshape cells to “repair” neurons in our brains
In a paper published… in the journal Cell Reports, a team of researchers showed evidence that psychedelic drugs can induce structural changes in nerve cells — a trait called neuroplasticity — that could, in turn, help repair brain dysfunction in people with mood and anxiety disorders.
“The structure of neurons affects their function, and in the case of a lot of neuropsychiatric diseases, particularly mood and anxiety disorders, these are characterized by an atrophy of neurons in the prefrontal cortex, a key brain region that regulates emotion, fear, and reward,” says David Olson, Ph.D. “So if we can find compounds that promote growth of those neurons we might be able to repair the circuits are damaged in those diseases.”Since prefrontal cortex helps control other areas of the brain involved in fear, anxiety, and reward, says Olson, it’s a critical region for the treatment of depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders.
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Psychedelic drugs reshape cells to “repair” neurons in our brains
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