Psilocybin, Depression, and Synaptogenesis: Insights into the Field’s Past, Present, and Future
Georgetown Scientific Research Journal October 10, 2023 Anna Douglas, Daniel Staas, Anna Hampton et al. 1 citation
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Four years ago, the FDA granted psilocybin breakthrough therapy status as a possible treatment. Psilocybin and other hallucinogens have shown promise as alternatives to classical antidepressants. Research into the mechanistic action of 5-HT2A receptor agonists has increased. Hallucinogens produce different downstream effects than non-hallucinogenic 5-HT2A agonists, including forming a receptor complex with metabotropic glutamate receptors. Psilocybin's unique synaptogenic effect may contribute to its therapeutic effect for major depressive disorder, but the underlying mechanism has not been explored. Psilocybin's upregulation of transcription factors like egr-2, c-fos, and brain-derived neurotrophic factors, and its connection with the TrkB signaling pathway, may explain this mechanism.