Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, cilt.59, sa.10, ss.1-15, 2024 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Abstract
Psychoactive substances obtained from botanicals have been applied for a wide
variety of purposes in the rituals of different cultures for thousands of years.
Classical psychedelics from N,N0
-dimethyltryptamine, psilocybin, mescaline
and various lysergamides cause specific alterations in perception, emotion and
cognition by acting through serotonin 5-HT2A receptor activation. Lysergic
acid diethylamide, the first famous breakthrough in the field, was discovered
by chance by Albert Hoffman in the Zurich Sandoz laboratory in 1943, and
studies on its psychoactive effects began to take place in the literature. Studies
in this area were blocked after the legislation controlling the use and research
of psychedelic drugs came into force in 1967, but since the 1990s, it has started
to be a matter of scientific curiosity again by various research groups. In particular, with the crucial reports of psychotherapy-assisted psilocybin applications
for life-threatening cancer-related anxiety and depression, a new avenues have
been opened in the treatment of psychiatric diseases such as treatmentresistant depression and substance addictions. An increasing number of studies show that psychedelics have a very promising potential in the treatment of
neuropsychiatric diseases where the desired efficiency cannot be achieved with conventional treatment methods. In this context, we discuss psychedelic therapy, encompassing its historical development, therapeutic applications and
potential treatment effects—especially in depression, trauma disorders and
substance use disorders—within the framework of ethical considerations.
KEYWORDS
anxiety, depression, neurobiology, psychedelics, substance disorders