Researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics & Neurotherapeutics are working on a new class of psychedelic drug: one that doesn’t cause you to trip. As mental healthcare and psychedelic studies continue to rise in public prominence, it’s more important than ever to leave no stone unturned.
PhD candidates Beckett et al. set out at the end of last year to determine if they could synthetically replicate some of the neurochemical effects of classical psychedelics like magic mushrooms. Along the way, they may have found a way to remove one of the biggest roadblocks in psychedelic therapies.
Psychedelics are experiencing something of a renaissance. New research points to potential utility in drugs like psilocybin, ketamine, and LSD helping with mental illnesses where more traditional treatments fall short.
But they’re not a cure-all, either. Up to 40% of psilocybin users report “challenging experiences” during and after the trip. And for some, those negative consequences - “enduring psychotic symptoms,” as some researchers have observed - can stick around.
Others who could benefit are barred due to being on certain prescription drugs, having a family history of mental illness, or being simply made physically sick by taking psychedelics.
Others who could benefit from psychedelics face practical roadblocks. “Psychedelics aren’t a case of ‘take two and call me in the morning,’” says Dr. Sam Gandy, PhD in ecological sciences and independent psychedelic researcher. “Their usage demands supervision.”
Beckett & colleagues didn’t set out specifically to chemically engineer psychedelics that don’t make you trip. Their research intent was, in the authors’ words, to find out whether it was possible to synthesize a new category of psychedelic drug.
How? As Gandy explains, Beckettt et al. used ultraviolet light to chemically combine amino acids with tryptamine, the structural backbone for many classical psychedelics.
Along the way, Beckett observed that the lab-modified psychedelics elicited comparable neurological activity in rats, but without physical symptoms like head twitching - a consistent indicator of psychedelic effects in both rats and mice, according to Gandy.
It’s not a mild claim. Neither are their findings. Of the five synthetic psychedelics administered to rodent subjects, one displayed 93% efficacy in binding to crucial receptors, while others landed above 60%.
Ultraviolet light is also a more environmentally friendly way of modifying molecular structure than current methods, which rely on chemical agents, Gandy says.
Classical psychedelics like psilocybin work by binding to 5HT2A serotonin receptors in your brain. By flipping certain neural switches, these drugs seem to reduce rigid thought patterns and open new avenues for your brain to form neurological connections.
The real-world outcome is a transient shift in perspective which, if integrated properly, can become long-lasting and, for some, permanent. But, like any drug, psychedelics have acute side effects. Tripping can be stressful, uncomfortable, or even physically unsafe.
“This research could yield new medicines that have some of the same neuronal-connecting benefits,” Gandy continues, “without the issue of inducing a psychedelic reaction, which can be risky for certain populations, or in certain contexts.”
This isn’t a one-and-done. Beckett et al. have remarked that their next step is to investigate why some of their synthetic compounds skipped the trip better than others. If they can solidify the mechanisms behind that bypass, it may open a new avenue of treatment - with fewer spacey side effects.