Psychedelic Mushrooms Give Researchers Clues for New Depression Drugs

It’s been decades since researchers took a serious look at psychedelic drugs and the effect they have on the human brain. Recently, according to a Reuters Health article, researchers in the United Kingdom have begun studying the effects of psilocybin, the substance found in psychedelic or “magic” mushrooms, as a possible clue to developing newer, more effective drugs to treat depression.

Antidepressants in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of drugs, of which Zoloft is a member, have become the treatment of choice for depression sufferers. Unfortunately, many women believed it was safe to take an antidepressant like Zoloft to combat feelings of depression during pregnancy, but they later learned that antidepressants in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class are believed to cause serious birth defects in their children. Some women who took the drug during their pregnancies are filing lawsuits against Pfizer, the manufacturer of the drug, because of the alleged birth defects caused by Zoloft.

Psychedelic mushrooms are by no means a viable option for treating depression at this point, but recent findings do hold future promise.

Psychedelic Mushrooms Offer Clues to How the Brain Functions

This latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), looked at 30 volunteers who had their blood infused with psilocybin, while they had changes in their brain activity measured inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The scans found that the drug decreased activity in certain “hub” regions of the brain that are “known to play a role in constraining our experience of the world and keeping it orderly,” one researcher said. Many of the volunteers described a “feeling of the cogs being loosened” and their “sense of self being altered.”

One key area of the brain affected was the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) which researchers know plays a key role in depression, and is also the area of the brain targeted by SSRIs. Psilocybin’s “dampening” of this area might lead to what researchers believe could be effective, potentially long-acting depression drugs.

Although the studies are preliminary, and are among only a few conducted since the 60s and 70s, the revival of interest in psychedelic drugs is considered a “promising field of study into mind-altering drugs which some experts say offer powerful and sustained mood improvement and relief from anxiety.”

Other experts recommend exercising caution: “These findings are very interesting from the research viewpoint, but a great deal more work would be needed before most psychiatrists would think that psilocybin was a safe, effective and acceptable adjunct to psychotherapy,” said Nick Craddock, a psychiatry professor from Cardiff University.

 Depression Sufferers Should Consult with Their Physicians

While no reputable physician or mental health professional would, at this point, recommend psychedelic mushrooms as a depression treatment to any patient, there are other treatments available. Pregnant women should exercise caution when considering a medication like Zoloft; weighing the risks and benefits to herself as well as to her unborn child.

Protect Your Rights as a Consumer

The lawyers at the Rottenstein Law Group have over 25 years of collective experience advocating for clients in consumer product injury cases. If you took Zoloft during your pregnancy and your child was born with Zoloft birth defects, then you might be able to seek compensation in a Zoloft lawsuit. Fill out our contact form or call us at 1-877-471-8940 and one of our Zoloft lawyers will be in touch.

If you wish to know more about filing a Zoloft birth defects lawsuit, download this free Zoloft brochure.