Importance of Psychedelics

  Psychedelic drugs have profound effects on the brain, substantially altering perception, mood, and even the hardwiring of our brains. Because of their potential to cause a long-term changes to how our brains process information and emotions, drugs like MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin are being studied as a possible breakthrough for mental health treatments. While studies on the clinical use of psychedelics are showing great promise, one big question remains: Is the psychedelic experience necessary to gain the mental health benefits? Minding memory While Hutson — who has a breadth of experience studying psilocybin and MDMA — handled the design of the participants’ medicated experience, Wenthur set up the protocols for testing the effectiveness of the combination on elimination of memory traces. The vial in which the psilocybin capsules are delivered to the School of Pharmacy for clinical research. To understand whether memories for particular facets of the experience are more relevant than