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Timing is key for behavioural benefits of psychedelics

Juvenile mice find social experiences more rewarding than do adults. The discovery that psychedelics can re-engage the social neural circuits for varying durations in adults points to a possible therapeutic mechanism for these drugs.
  1. Samuel C. Woodburn

    1. Samuel C. Woodburn is in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

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  2. Alex C. Kwan

    1. Alex C. Kwan is in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

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Psychedelics are drugs that alter perception and cognition. They include both ‘classical’ psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin, which target receptors for the neurotransmitter molecule serotonin, and related psychoactive substances, such as MDMA, ketamine and ibogaine. Clinical trials suggest that these drugs might be useful for treating mental illness1–3, perhaps because of the changes they induce in neuronal growth and signalling, for example triggering the formation of synaptic connections between neurons4–6. But what distinguishes the neural plasticity elicited by the various psychoactive compounds? Writing in Nature, Nardou et al.7 report that various psychedelics can act on the same brain region — that involved in social learning — but for different lengths of time. The findings could explain why, despite their differences, the drugs confer related potential therapeutic benefits.

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Nature 618, 677-678 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01869-2

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Competing Interests

A.C.K. is a member of the scientific advisory board of Empyrean Neuroscience and Freedom Biosciences. A.C.K. has consulted for Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and Psylo. These duties had no influence on the content of this article.

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