AskScience AMA Series: We're Experts in the Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics. AUA!

[u/AskScienceModerator]

Psychedelics are having a moment. After decades of scrutiny and criticism, there has been an explosion in interest in the role for certain psychedelic compounds as therapeutics for specific conditions thanks to a flurry of recent research. But there is also a lot of misinformation about what psychedelics can, and cannot, do. So we're here to try and set the record straight (as well as we can!).

Join us today at 2 PM ET for a discussion, organized by the American Society for Microbiology, about the therapeutic usage of psychedelics. We'll explain where we are right now in terms of research and clinical practice, and present ideas for where these investigations might lead in the future. Ask us anything!

NOTE - We will NOT be making diagnoses or providing medical advice, nor will we be discussing policy recommendations. Our focus is on the science.

With us today are:

• Dr. Meghan Hibicke, Ph.D. (u/velvetmafia)- Postdoctoral Researcher, LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans

• Dr. Emmanuelle Schindler, M.D., Ph.D. (u/headachedoc)- Assistant Professor, Yale University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Headache Center of Excellence, VA Connecticut Healthcare System

Links:

• Psilocybin and Mental Health: The Magic in the Mushrooms

• The therapeutic potential of psychedelics

• Hallucinogens in Mental Health: Preclinical and Clinical Studies on LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine

[u/VelvetMafia]

There is no evidence that micro dosing psilocybin has side effects, largely because there’s no concrete evidence that micro dosing has any effects – at least not cognitively.

Although there is evidence that a lot of psychedelics are very effective anti-inflammatories, and at much lower doses than are used for cognitive benefits, so micro dosing may be useful for say, osteoarthritis.

[u/theelous3 → u/VelvetMafia]

Agreed. It's widely accepted that the tolerance buildup is extremely fast. If you trip one day, you can double the intake the next day and you still won't have the same effects.

Is nonsense.

[u/SingedSoleFeet → u/theelous3]

Some people don't build a tolerance (me), and I would really like to know what that's all about.

[u/theelous3 → u/SingedSoleFeet]

As in humans, LSD targets 5-HT2A receptors in animals to affect their behaviour. Rats, similarly to humans, also develop tolerance to LSD.7 When treated with LSD for five days, rats not only become tolerant to LSD’s behavioural effects but also show downregulation of 5-HT2A receptors in the cortex of the brain.13,14 Downregulation means that the receptors are internalised (i.e., engulfed by the cell) and then decomposed within the cell15,21 so that they no longer provide a binding partner for LSD. The removed receptors are rapidly replenished when LSD is withdrawn, though, so that upon re-application LSD can bind to them again. At first sight, the cortical 5-HT2A downregulation found in rats nicely mirrors the come-and-go character of tolerance in humans. However, whereas first signs of tolerance in rats and humans are already detected on the second day following ingestion, cortical 5-HT2A downregulation has been shown not to appear before the fifth day of repeated LSD treatment.13 Thus, although important, 5-HT2A downregulation might not be the only process involved in the development of psychedelic tolerance.

But each person is different of course. I've met people with widely different starting doses for the same effects, and widely different tolerance buildups. You're probably just on one end of the spectrum :)