Dell Medical School is currently conducting a research study to see how psychedelics could help patients with mental health disorders like depression, trauma and anxiety.
Led by Greg Fonzo, the co-director of the Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, the lab focuses on researching if the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin can be used to safely and effectively treat patients’ mental health. Psilocybin stimulates receptors in the brain to alter the release of dopamine and enhance positive emotions, according to a study published in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. Although psilocybin is found in the popular “magic mushroom” recreational drug, the form of the compound used in the lab is not derived from mushrooms, but instead synthetically produced.
“We are hopeful that a lot of people will benefit from going through this treatment process,” Fonzo said. “That’s really why we’re undertaking this research. … We’ve had a lot of interest in the local community of people that want to participate.”
A main goal of the research is to find a better option for patients resistant to other treatments, Fonzo said. While he’s hopeful these psychedelics will be beneficial to patients, he said he can’t guarantee a successful treatment.
“One thing that I find particularly fascinating about psychedelics is the fact that when they work, they tend to work quickly, so people feel better pretty immediately,” Fonzo said. “By the day after the effects, (patients) usually will report a very large drop in symptoms, improved mood and improved outlook.”
Research fellow Manoj Doss said a possible side effect of patients using psilocybin medically is intense hallucinations, but said it’s not as severe as the side effects other antidepressants have, such as weight gain, sexual dysfunction and insomnia.
“Even if you do consider the hallucinogenic effects a side effect and that it can come with some degree of discomfort, for most people the benefits seem to outweigh those moments of discomfort,” Doss said.
On top of figuring out whether psilocybin is effective in treating mental health, the research lab also has to make sure the process is safe since the drug is not FDA-approved, but Doss said he’s confident it will soon be another option for psychiatrists to prescribe.
“There’s a huge burden just trying to prove that this works and that it can also be done safely,” Doss said. “With all the precautions that other labs have gone through, that we’re going through, I do think that they can be administered safely.”
