Psychedelic frees up depressed brain, study shows
As a physician with a practice in the realm of behavioral health it&#x27;s been fascinating to witness the development of approaches to treatment-resistant depression using hallucinogenic agents.<p>First out of the gate was ketamine (now on the market as esketamine), and currently psilocybin is being studied. It&#x27;s showing promising results, however, the details re: dosing and adverse effects are still being worked out.<p>It&#x27;s an inescapable fact: <i>ALL drugs produce side effects</i> (at least in some recipients). Who will or won&#x27;t tolerate a given drug is mostly hard to predict beyond the overall odds.<p>Everyone in my field has seen individuals who have experienced serious harm due to use of hallucinogens including psilocybin. IMO using this class of drugs shouldn&#x27;t be considered trivial. Sure, a lot of people have taken such &quot;illicit&quot; drugs without lasting problems, but response is a stochastic function. Odds of harm are no doubt small but as use spreads to a larger pool odds are adverse reactions will emerge.<p>Of course people with serious depression already have major brain dysfunction and likely vulnerable to exacerbated adverse effects. Compared to normal functioning there&#x27;s sharply decreased room for error.<p>In medicine the primary rule is &quot;above all do no harm&quot;. Absent sufficient data backing particular practices, choosing to step into new territory requires moving forward with great caution and care.