A recent paper in Science illustrates the relationship between changes in the brain and serotonin by employing psychedelics in mice to reveal how different cells react.
The report, led by David E. Olson, Ph.D., questions serotonin's role in depression while partially illustrating why human bodies naturally produce psychedelics DMT, bufotenine, and mebufotenin.
Olson, the lead author of the paper, is the director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics at the University of California, Davis, and a co-founder of a biotech firm Delix Therapeutics headquartered in Massachusetts.
- According to the study, our bodies make psychedelic compounds, and many animals and plants produce DMT.
- Many experts believe psychedelic drugs could substantially address this mental suffering, such as depression and anxiety.
- Psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca, are gaining more mainstream recognition for alleviating mental suffering.
- Mental issues can make it harder to function cognitively, known as the neurotrophic theory of depression, and psychedelic drugs like ketamine seem to reverse this relationship.
Some states in the U.S. have abolished laws banning psychedelics, but they are illegal in most places.
