Psychedelics and personality
Authors:
Marc Aixalà , Rafael G. dos Santos, Jaime E. C. Hallak, and José Carlos Bouso.
Journal:
ACS Chemical Neuroscience
Year:
2018
About the study
In the last 25 years, we have witnessed an increasing number of clinical trials researching the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances. These studies often used only a single dose of the compounds and reported few side effects.
The results of studies involving psychedelics and personality are mixed and inconsistent, and protocols vary a lot in terms of the duration of the treatment, the kind and amount of psychotherapeutic sessions, and the type of drug and its dose.
Psychedelics can have a positive impact on some dimensions of personality traits, opening a new field of therapeutic possibilities, where personality and associated brain modifications could be the basis of future therapeutic change.
Abstract
Background: In the past decade, an increasing number of clinical trials are reporting evidence that psychedelics or serotonergic hallucinogens (such as lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and ayahuasca/dimethyltryptamine) could be effective in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The mechanisms responsible for these effects are not fully understood but seem to involve changes in brain dynamics in areas rich in serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and in personality.
Methods and conclusions: In the present text, we present a brief and critical overview of the current research in this field, pointing out both promises and limitations of these studies.
Excerpt: psychedelics and personality
“Psychedelics â derived from the Greek words psyche (‘mind’) and delein (‘to manifest’), thus ‘mind manifesting’ â or serotonergic hallucinogens are a group of psychoactive drugs that profoundly alter perceptions, cognitive processes, and consciousness by their agonism action on cortical 5-HT2A serotonergic receptors. These drugs â such as mescaline, psilocybin, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) â have been used since immemorial times by several ethnic groups worldwide for ritual and therapeutic purposes, but they became widely known in Western cultures with the discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) by Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1943. In the following decades, psychedelics became important tools for psychiatry and psychotherapy, as well as new recreational, introspective, and spiritual search drugs used by the counterculture and the New Age subcultures. Unfortunately, the recreational use of these drugs, the counterculture associated with this use, and other cultural factors resulted in the restriction of human research of these compounds for the next 25 years.”
Photo by Rhett Wesley on Unsplash.
Categories:
Studies & papers
, Psychedelics
Tags:
ayahuasca
, scientific research
, study
, DMT
, LSD
, psilocybin
, psychedelics
, mescaline
, hallucinogens
, drug dependence
, personality
, substance use disorders
, mood disorders
, anxiety disorders