Could hallucinogenic substances cure some mental illnesses?

More generally badociated with rave parties than in medicine, certain hallucinogenic substances could, however, soon be used by the medical profession to treat patients with psychological disorders

A revolutionary potential

A team of British researchers from Imperial College London will soon launch a clinical trial to determine whether psychotropic drugs can help treat depression and anxiety. Commonly prescribed by doctors to treat these diseases, the specific inhibitors of the 'reuptake of serotonin (SSRI), will indeed be replaced in this test by psilocybin, an active ingredient found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

In 2017, a study had already shown that psilocybin can have a beneficial effect on people suffering from chronic depression. By acting on the amygdala that controls our emotions, this molecule would allow the brain to "reset" and be prevented from " remaining frozen in a state of rigidity ", as the explains Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, in charge of the future study at the BBC

"We know that some psychotropic drugs have a revolutionary potential, and we do not exaggerate" rejoices the latter who thinks that hallucinogenic substances can have a beneficial effect on the wake activity of our brain, also called the default mode network (RMD).

A curative use diverted by the counterculture

However, this is not the first time in history that medicine has taken a close interest in the curative effects of psychotropic drugs. As the BBC recalls, in the 1950s and 1960s, these were already considered as potential treatments for many mental illnesses. Caught up by the counterculture in a recreational way, these "drugs" have long been bad press because of the bad trips they could provoke.

Nevertheless, if they can help cure the depression, doctors still prefer to stay careful about their use. Indeed, these hallucinogens, even if handled with care, can awaken other mental illnesses in people predisposed to this kind of pathology.