psilocybin would make us more optimistic

Of natural origin (ayahuasca, peyote, mushrooms, mescaline) or synthetic (LSD, MDMA), psychedelics induce altered states of consciousness with highly amplified and disorganized sensory acuity. In recent years, numerous studies have highlighted the potential of these substances to treat psychiatric disorders, including severe depression.

While the exact mechanisms by which psychedelics affect the brain remain poorly understood, a recent study, led by scientists at Monash University (Australia), now sheds new light on the effects of psilocybin, the active compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Psilocybin increases optimism and engagement in rodents

The results, published in the journal Translational Psychiatryshow that rats given psilocybin displayed increased signs of long-term optimism while completing reward-based tasks. Concretely, the rodents showed themselves to be more motivated to explore their environment and to perform actions to obtain gratifications. In other words, psilocybin would have made it possible to“increase engagement [et] optimism” of the animal, according to a press release from the researchers.

According to them, the substance could therefore offer a new avenue for treating symptoms of depression, which often include “apathy, disengagement, social withdrawal” and, more generally, “a pessimistic view of the future”. “These results highlight potential mechanisms by which psilocybin could alter brain circuits and increase optimism in animals, and hopefully in humans too”note the scientists.

Hope for depressed patients?

This study could have major implications for people suffering from depression, a psychiatric disorder that affects millions of people around the world (including three in France), particularly for those who suffer from treatment-resistant depression, i.e. -say who do not respond to at least two antidepressants. “The effects observed on optimism in rats will help us understand who could benefit from these psilocybin-based therapies, and conversely, to identify those for whom these treatments would not be effective”assure the authors.

Could today’s psychedelics be tomorrow’s antidepressants? Why not, if there is a medical framework. Indeed, a 2021 study had already noted that psilocybin, which targets certain serotonin receptors in the brain acting on mood and anxiety, could be as effective as an antidepressant… provided that patients follow a psychotherapy session in parallel. The psychedelic allows “a liberation of thought and feeling which, when guided by psychotherapy, produces positive results”concluded the research.