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How psychedelic drugs achieve their potent health benefits

Mouse studies suggest that drugs from LSD to ecstasy renew the brain’s flexibility — but some scientists are sceptical.
  1. Sara Reardon

    1. Sara Reardon is a freelance journalist based in Bozeman, Montana.

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Psychedelic drugs are promising treatments for many mental-health conditions, but researchers don’t fully understand why they have such powerful therapeutic effects. Now, a study in mice suggests that psychedelics all work in the same way: they reset the brain to a youthful state in which it can easily absorb new information and form crucial connections between neurons1.

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Nature 618, 654-655 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01920-2

Read the related News & Views: ‘Timing is key for behavioural benefits of psychedelics’

References

  1. Nardou, R. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06204-3 (2023).

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  2. Goodwin, G. M. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 387, 1637–1648 (2022).

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  3. Nardou, R. et al. Nature 569, 116–120 (2019).

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