MindShift

The Big Story

Psychedelics unlock the mind’s eye, but at what cost? Picture a red brick house, a cloudy sky, or a yellow car in your mind's eye. For most people, it is easy, but for those with aphantasia, an estimated 3% of the population, mental imagery simply doesn’t exist. Psychedelics have been shown to unlock this ability, possibly by restoring altered connections between different brain regions. This month, a study published in Cortex raised concerns; heightened mental imagery is linked to risks like PTSD flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. What could the long-term mental health effects be if mental images are suddenly switched on?

We still don’t know how often psychedelics trigger such changes in people with aphantasia, or whether the newfound faculty is permanent. Published in June in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, a case study suggests that the effects may be long-lasting. 

For those who experience the sudden emergence of their mind’s eye, the shift can be overwhelming. In 2023, Psyche shared the story of Anastasia, who described her first mental images after taking magic mushrooms: "I found it incredible because it was the first time I had images in my mind, and I realized you can play with them, zoom in, zoom out, break down colors."

Science & Innovation

Are hallucinations a necessary feature for therapeutic effects? A Johns Hopkins psychiatrist argues that the hallmark of psychedelics, hallucinations, rarely seems to correlate with mental health benefits. Published in Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience, he suggests shifting the focus to higher-order processes disrupted during the psychedelic experience, such as emotions, sense of time, self, and bodily awareness, to better understand how these compounds reshape the mind.
→ NPP—Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Psilocybin for postpartum depression. Synthetic psychedelic RE104 may hold promise against postpartum depression. During a phase 2 clinical trial on 84 women, 77.1% of them achieved at least a 50% improvement on a standard depression severity scale within a single week. The results were announced by Reunion Neuroscience, which is currently developing and testing the compound, also known as Luvesilocin. Phase 3 trials should follow suit shortly, the company said.
→ BioPharma Dive

A scientific review on the venerable 5-HT2A. Despite its technical name, you may already have heard about this brain receptor. Central to psychedelic effects, it is key to understanding how these compounds act in the brain. A review article in Molecular Psychiatry explores its role in hallucinogenic experiences and examines whether it plays a necessary role in psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity. In other words, tinkering with this receptor may be key to therapeutic effects.
→ Molecular Psychiatry

Society & Policy

A call to keep funding VA research into psychedelic therapies for PTSD. Two Representatives and a Marine Corps veteran call on Congress to sustain this field. Veterans face a severe mental health crisis, with suicide rates 60% higher than in the civilian population. Promising results, bipartisan backing in Congress, and investment from the VA and Department of Defense have brought new momentum, they say. But as the next fiscal year appropriations begin, the authors stress that continued funding is essential to ensure veterans can benefit from emerging treatments.
→ STAT News

The latest updates on the legalization front. The past two weeks have seen some policy shifts in America and Europe.

• US Federal Government - The Department of Health and Human Services is considering moving psilocybin into the less restrictive Schedule II tier. → Los Angeles Times

• Alaska - A ballot initiative to decriminalize psychedelics is approved for signature-gathering. → Anchorage Daily News

• Illinois - The Compassionate Use and Research of Entheogens (CURE) Act may be close to securing the 30 Senate votes needed for passage. → Chicago Health

• Norway - Legislators approve reimbursement for the use of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. → Psychedelic Alpha

Business

Psychedelics pose a challenge to intellectual property. As companies prepare to invest billions, the sector grapples with unique hurdles. Intellectual property “will become an ever more critical component for protecting innovation, securing investment, and ensuring sustainable growth - while at the same time stirring controversy over novelty and prior art, indigenous rights, and other hot button issues”, says an analyst at the IP merchant bank Ocean Tomo. He outlines several strategies to secure IP, from Compass’ traditional pharma approach to MAPS’ open science and Atai Life Sciences’ innovative licensing models.
→ Ocean Tomo

AbbVie buys an experimental depression drug for $1.2 billion. Developed by Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, bretisilocin is a synthetic psychedelic that delivers intense but brief hallucinogenic effects, lasting roughly an hour. The company claims this conveniently short duration doesn’t compromise its therapeutic potential. On Monday, Chicago-based AbbVie, facing the patent expiration of its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, bought the compound for up to $1.2 billion as part of a broader acquisition push that can drive the company’s growth.
→ Reuters

In brief

You are nothing. Three experts reflect on what happens when psychoactive drugs dissolve the boundaries of the self. → Big Think

The dull challenger. Could ibogaine surpass its more famous competitors, LSD and psilocybin, in the race to become a leading therapy? → Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Aiming for the stars. The police raided a spiritual retreat in eastern Spain, promising to provide "astral journeys” with toad venom and ayahuasca. → The Independent

This is the end. In Australia, a psychedelic trial for terminally ill patients shows improved quality of life. → ABC

High Hopes, Low Results. Contrary to popular belief, opiates and alcohol stifle creativity, but the jury is still out on psychedelics.  → Psychology Today

Fostering research with industry. Oregon's psilocybin therapy business may help scientists study psychedelics. → KGW8

Elevating music. Get high with 10 hidden gems from the late ’60s psychedelic rock. → Phoenix New Times

The venture prince and the frog. The longevity enthusiast Bryan Johnson experiments with the Sonoran toad’s venom. → Business Insider

If you have a little more time

The compound that strips your mind naked. Unlike LSD or psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT does not bring visions and hallucinations, but tends to strip down the mind to its most essential awareness, says UCL Neuroscientist Christopher Timmermann. Structurally related to the Sonoran toad's toxic secretions, this synthetic compound could help us understand what true awareness is and uncover its underlying mechanism in the brain.
→ Big Think

Psilocybin makes you more focused on art. Researchers explored how psychedelics influence visual attention by having volunteers take psilocybin and then view a range of paintings while their eye movements were tracked. The scientists presumed this would result in more chaotic visual roaming around the artworks. Contrary to this expectation, the high-dose experience led participants to focus even more intensely on key details, such as faces in realistic paintings or central motifs in abstract works.
→ Nautilus