Allosteric modulation is a promising way to target the receptors of psychoactive substances, such as CB1R, for therapeutic use. However, it is difficult to design safe, effective allosteric compounds. New high-resolution structures of CB1R provide insight into a way forward for drug discovery.
By engineering E. coli to produce norbaeocystin, researchers seek to settle whether this precursor to psilocybin is itself psychedelic.
The potential neurotoxicity of MDMA led to the development of APBs, a family of entactogens whose effect profiles may position them as attractive candidates for the next generation of entactogenic medicines.
Psychedelics have demonstrated the potential for rapid, dramatic, and enduring therapeutic effects in people with psychiatric disorders as well as in animal models of these conditions. However, the molecular adaptations in the brain that underlie these profound psychedelic-induced behavioral changes have yet to be defined.
We review the rise, fall, and rebirth of the infamous entactogen MDMA, the original ‘love drug’ and a promising tool for use in psychotherapy.
Previous research in people with substance use disorders and animal models of drug addiction indicate that classical psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin may reduce drug use and drug-seeking behavior. However, the mechanism of action underlying the anti-addictive effects of psychedelics remains unknown.
Previous research in both people with OCD and animal models of the disorder indicate that psilocybin and related compounds may rapidly reduce compulsive behavior. However, the mechanism of action underlying the anti-compulsive effects of psilocybin remains unknown.
As science unravels ketamine’s mechanisms of action to better understand its efficacy as an antidepressant, its antibacterial activity has been probed at the same time. Current research has found a naturally-occurring, fungal origin for the drug, exhibiting antiparasitic properties.
As ketamine’s demonstrable therapeutic applications have become ever more popular, earlier research lauding its potential as an antimicrobial and antiparasitic agent has quietly reemerged.
Understanding how psychedelics interact with sleep may be important for their use in clinical settings and can provide insight to their underlying mechanisms of action, including those of neuroplasticity.
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