Testing It Up

Psychedelic mushrooms, or magic mushrooms, may eventually be used to treat depression, based on two small studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the British Journal of Psychiatry.

One study involved inserting psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, into the blood of 30 study participants, as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners measured changes in their brain activity.

For this study, it was observed that psilocybin lead to decreased activity in the “hub” regions of the brain – areas of the brain that are especially well-connected to other areas.

The second study, on the other hand, involved 10 healthy volunteers. The results indicated that psilocybin boosted the participants’ recall of personal memories and their emotional well-being for up to two weeks. What this may indicate, the researchers said, is that psilocybin may be useful as an adjunct to psychotherapy.

David Nutt of the Department of Medicine at Imperial College London served as senior author for both studies. He shared: “Psychedelics are thought of as ‘mind-expanding’ drugs, so it has commonly been assumed that they work by increasing brain activity, but surprisingly, we found that psilocybin actually caused activity to decrease in areas that have the densest connections with other areas… These hubs constrain our experience of the world and keep it orderly. We now know that deactivating these regions leads to a state in which the world is experienced as strange.”

The researchers stressed, however, the need for further research as both studies only involved small groups of participants.

A person suffering from severe depression may find relief in taking antidepressant medications under the supervision of a mental health professional. Antidepressants act to stabilize the levels of natural chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters.

The four primary antidepressants prescribed for depression, according to a feature in HelpGuide.org, are:

SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) work on the brain chemical called serotonin. They are the commonly prescribed medications over the four types since, they have less adverse side effects. Effects include increase in suicidal thoughts, hostility, and anxiety. Increase in the risk of bone loss and fractures are common for patients 65 and older.  SSRIs are available as Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, and Celexa.

Atypical Antidepressants target other neurotransmitters either alone or in addition to serotonin. Wellbutrin blocks the reabsorption of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. Trazodone, Cymbalta, Effexor, and Remeron affect both norepinephrine and serotonin (which is why they are sometimes called serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, or SNRIs). Side effects may vary such as nausea, dry mouth and blurred vision.

Tricyclic antidepressants work by inhibiting the brain’s reuptake or serotonin and norepinephrine. They also partially inhibit the reabsorption of dopamine. Because the tricyclics have such a broad mechanism of action, they tend to cause more side effects than the other classes of antidepressants. They may cause irregular heart rhythyms. These drugs include Elavil, Anafranil, Norpramin, Sinequan, Tofranil, Pamelor, Aventyl, Vivactil, and Surmontil.

MAOIs (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors) are the oldest class of antidepressants. Mixed with food and medicines containing tyramine can cause abrupt rise in blood pressure, which may lead to stroke. MAOIs include Nardil, Parnate, Marplan, and Emsam.