Mental health disorders affect 60M Americans daily. That is over five percent of the adult population. Various treatments abate symptoms, but some people still struggle to find relief. Research has suggested that psychedelics could hold the power to reprogram the brain in these circumstances.
This would be a notable coup for those struggling with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Studies continue supporting this concept to the point that doctors are learning how to talk about psychedelics with patients.
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With continued interest in psilocybin therapy comes steady research. The latest published studies cover cancer-related depression and anxiety along with increased optimism.
New study on psilocybin for cancer-relation mental distress
Psilocybin-assisted therapy research has shown positive results for anxiety and depression. However, mental issues can extend beyond these two disorders for cancer patients. In a recently published study, researchers hoped to understand how magic mushrooms could impact other commonly experienced cancer-related distress like interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, obsession-compulsion, somatization, phobia, paranoia, and psychosis.
The paper analyzed randomized data from two unpublished Phase II clinical trials to understand more about these cancer-specific mental health issues. Psilocybin therapy “significantly improved” each of the issues listed without any lasting psychosis, paranoia, or phobias.
The study concluded that “our findings suggest that PAP has the potential to be a comprehensive mental health treatment for patients with cancer.”
Struggling through cancer diagnoses and treatment is stressful, to say the least. The experience leaves a lasting impact that can diminish someone’s mental health. If this research stands, psilocybin-assisted therapy might help.
Optimism abounds with magic mushrooms
While previous studies honed in on specific medical uses for psilocybin, another takes a gander at a more theoretical data point. A study published in Translational Psychiatry used rats to investigate how magic mushrooms might make people more optimistic over time.
Research continues supporting the concept that psilocybin therapy helps people struggling with depression. However, little is known about what happens in the brain during and after this treatment. Female rats were acclimated to their environment and trained to take food freely using a nose poke.
After three weeks, the rats were given their first dose of psilocybin. They injected the compound directly into the belly. Researchers identified a specific posture in the rats that indicated the mushrooms were hitting. Once they were under the influence, rats were subjected to a reverse learning model that fed them either a sweet treat or nothing if it was booped.
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Rats are generally happy, but psilocybin increased it
Using this model, computational analysis, and a saline control group, researchers declared that psilocybin produced an optimism bias. Rats who had mushrooms in their systems were less averse to the possibility of losing, meaning they were more apt to try new things for the reward pellet. They also had a higher expectation of reward connected to changes in their beliefs. This combination leads to a sunnier disposition, researchers concluded.
There was one limitation. When healthy, rats are generally happy animals. Because of this, the rat control group was also apt to update their beliefs.
“Our findings suggest that psilocybin amplifies the asymmetry in updating seen in wild type rats. Future research on optimism should test the effects of psilocybin in a depression model cohort, such as in a model of chronic mild stress,” the study reads.
The work was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Grant and a Three Springs Foundation Grant. The psilocybin came from the USONA Institute Investigational Drug Supply Program.
Mushroom magic is rooted in science
As psilocybin makes its way deeper into the lab, more is uncovered about its potential and how it works. These studies light the candle from both ends, identifying uses for the compounds while also revealing potential mechanisms at play. When it comes to the massive impact of mental health struggles, psilocybin may be able to help.
