Psychedelics: Their Limited Understanding and Future in the Treatment of Chronic Pain
Vedant N Hedau, Ashish P Anjankar
Cureus August 25, 2022 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.28413 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Chronic pain Intervention counseling Disease Intensive care medicine |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Psychedelics show potential for treating chronic pain, though the mechanism of chronic pain is not fully understood. |
Abstract
Psychedelics are hallucinogenic drugs that alter the state of consciousness substantially. They bring about psychological, auditory, and visual changes. The psychedelics act on the brain, implying that they have a powerful psychological impact. One of the main factors contributing to disability worldwide is pain. The majority of people deal with pain on a daily basis. Living with chronic pain affects daily life and has social implications. Chronic pain can be associated with any disease that may be genetic, idiopathic, or traumatic. The standard management of pain is done with pharmacological intervention and physical therapy. However, with time, patients may become resistant to a particular class of drugs. As these drugs do not help in treating the cause of pain, they act by blocking receptors and suppressing nervous systems, as this pharmacological intervention is not a permanent solution for pain management. Long-term use of the pharmacological intervention, which acts by suppressing the nervous system, may develop other side effects on the body. These standard therapies are not as effective in managing pain. The opioid class of drugs has good pain-relieving properties but causes addiction; it needs therapeutic drug monitoring to monitor that it is not abused. Since the first synthetic psychedelic was developed, until today, we have had a fair chance to understand its effects and side effects.These drugs are very potent and effective. They have shown promising developments in the field of clinical psychology. There is upcoming research on psychedelics' use in treating pain disorders. In this article, let us understand the effect of psychedelic drugs on the brain and body and how they modulate pain. Even today, the precise mechanism of chronic pain is still not understood completely. Psychedelics' application and uses in future medicine and pain management are being studied. Understanding psychedelics' effects on the brain and how they function allows us to link how they might be used to treat chronic pain.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account | 2016 | Review | |
| Psychedelics as anti-inflammatory agents Animal models and cellular studies | 2018 | Review | |
| A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. | 2013 | Review | |
| The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies | 2018 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Ayahuasca and its major component harmine promote antinociceptive effects in mouse models of acute and chronic pain. Journal of Ethnopharmacology April 6, 2024
- Psychedelics and fNIRS neuroimaging: exploring new opportunities Neurophotonics December 2, 2022
- Psychedelic research, assisted therapy and the role of the anaesthetist: A review and insights for experimental and clinical practices. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology December 1, 2024
- Psychedelics for Use and Wellbeing Cultural Context and Recent Developments: A Jamaican Perspective Online Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine October 28, 2022
Cites 24
- MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Nature Medicine June 1, 2021
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Global Street Food: la cocina de la calle Diseño interior 2009
- Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for psychiatric and existential distress in patients with life-threatening cancer Journal of Psychopharmacology January 9, 2020
- Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future. Neuropharmacology December 25, 2017
and 19 more in the library