Studies Reveal How Psychedelics May Be More Beneficial Than Traditional Antidepressants for Treating Depression

La Cartita (@LaCartita)

13/mar/2023

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

A study published on Feb. 16 in the journal Science revealed that psychedelics function differently than traditional antidepressants when used to treat hard-to-treat depression.

The team’s experiments indicated that serotonin binds easily with receptors on the outside of brain cells, but cannot pass through the membrane to activate internal serotonin 2A receptors. On the other hand, psychedelic drugs can penetrate the cell membrane, thus enabling them to activate the internal receptors and enhance connectivity between neurons.

This raises questions about why the brain contains so many receptors that serotonin cannot access.

Ultimately, the findings suggest that psychedelics could be more beneficial than traditional antidepressants for treating depression, due to their ability to trigger effects that standard antidepressants do not.

The findings could also explain why psychedelics, combined with psychotherapy, may be more beneficial than traditional antidepressants.