Psychedelics and its Use in Neurology and Psychiatry

Have you used certain drugs only to give you change or enhance your sensory perceptions, thought processes, and energy levels? Let me guess your thoughts. You are thinking of cannabis or one of those drugs and maybe you are not far from the truth if you mention Ecstasy because that is just what
I am talking about. I am talking about substances and drugs like Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and Mescaline that are known as Psychedelics.

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Yesterday, a neighbor had a birthday party and a lot of people flooded our compound. While some were having excessive alcohol, others were taking Ecstasy possibly gotten from the local hard drug seller in the environment. I didn't really know what was going on until I started to see people act up. Some people were just excessively happy, others were just enjoying the level where they are with some just laying on the cars parked in the compound laughing and seeing everything seemingly funny or amusing. I was going to ask but I decided to do the asking this morning and I was told that they had MDMA. I have been reading about MDMA, so I decided to just write about Psychedelics and how scientists are working using it in psychiatry. Most of the people whom I spoke to preferred MDMA to alcohol, they loved the feeling, claiming it doesn't get them depressed and lightens their mood later on after the effects have subsided.

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The word Psychedelics was coined by English scientist Humphrey Osmond in 1957 and it is a Greek word meaning Mind-Manifest. A lot of people when they take these psychedelics, they experience a cognitive change of sense, feelings, and thoughts. There have been lots of negativity with Psychedelics giving it a push back but in recent times, these drugs are being used to combat neurological conditions. Majority of the Psychedelics have similar structures to Serotonin, allowing them to bind with its receptors in the brain. For instance, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) binds with the Serotonin 2A receptor where instead of the receptor triggering the normal cascade when serotonin binds, it would trigger a different cascade which is of the LSD. With Psychedelics, neurons that are not communicating in a normal scenario start to communicate. Different areas of the brain communicate with themselves. These drugs modulate the existing neurochemistry of the brain, and not that the brain is doing what it cannot do in the past.

In an introspective person, the default mode network of the brain is activated. The mode is made up of discrete, bilateral, and symmetrical cortical areas, in the brain but with psychedelics, this mode network is quieted and communications between the brain begins. Let me give you an illustration of what the brain looks like. Without Psychedelics, the brain is in a calm mode but with psychedelics the brain neurons start to fire at one another such as when a snow globe is being shaken. The user experiences an altered and heightened awareness as a result of modulation of the claustrum in the brain.

Let me talk about magic mushrooms or Psilocybin mushrooms. Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic agent (psychedelics) and in the body, a phosphate molecule from the psilocybin is removed turning it into psilocin which then binds to the serotonin receptor 5HT2A. Just like other Psychedelics, it strengthens the connections between brain network communication. It increases the sensing of the world but then it reduces the ability to understand the signals from the immediate physical environment.

Humans usually get into altered states even when sleeping but with psychedelics, there is access to these altered states. It has been used in the past in religious rituals since 3000 BC but has received numerous backlashes but then, Psychedelics are now being used to better human existence and treat conditions. An article Published on the 10th of May, 2021 Nature Medicine, titled "MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study", shows that the psychedelic drug MDMA is being used to treat patients with Post Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The test is in its third phase before being approved by the FDA. As it is an Agonist of the receptor LSD in the late 1960s and early 1970s, research showed that it had the potential as a treatment for alcoholism. Psychedelics have also been used for patients with treatment-resistant depression although, scientists are trying to show that there is an improvement compared to a placebo and traditional antidepressant. There have been many studies and clinical trials ongoing and

While these studies are still preliminary, do we say that psychedelics have a more beneficial side than the negative attention that has revolved around it. Do you think that it will have more importance in psychiatry in the future?

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, please, do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, kindly do well to keep them coming.