When anxiety sticks around for the long haul, it can wreak havoc on both our minds and bodies. This can potentially lead to serious psychological conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Reappraisal of Psychedelics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Surprisingly, some of the most promising tools for tackling this issue might be substances once written off as ‘dangerous’ or taboo. Psychedelics like psilocybin<\/a> (from magic mushrooms and truffles)<\/em> and MDMA \u2014 long lumped under the label of \u201cmind-altering drugs\u201d<\/em>\u2014are now gaining traction as powerful therapeutic agents. New research shows they might be able to \u201crewire\u201d the communication between our brains and immune systems, offering real healing potential backed by hard science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This discovery didn\u2019t begin in a cutting-edge lab \u2014 it started in a courtroom. Years ago, neuroscientist and immunologist Michael Wheeler was working as an intern for a public defender in Baltimore. It was there he first became fascinated with how a person\u2019s biology and environment could lead them into legal trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI felt that the actions of the people we defended were so inextricably linked with their environmental circumstances, inclusive of physical or emotional abuse beyond their control, that I was desperate to understand the inner workings of their minds,\u201d<\/em> Wheeler told The Genomic Press<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Motivated by this insight, Wheeler pivoted from law to science. He pursued a Ph.D. in neuroscience and later specialized in immunology during his postdoctoral work. His unique blend of expertise led to a groundbreaking study published in Nature<\/a><\/em> this April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The focus? A surprising connection between psychedelics, the brain, and the immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wheeler\u2019s team discovered that astrocytes \u2014 support cells in the amygdala, our brain\u2019s emotional hub \u2014 have receptors that help limit fear in response to stress. But when chronic stress takes over, those receptors go off-track. The immune system jumps in, and things spiral. \u201cWhen chronic stress disrupts this signaling, it leads to a cascade involving brain-resident cells and immune cells that ultimately increases fear behavior,\u201d<\/em> Wheeler explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The exciting part? Psychedelics seem to be able to reverse this harmful process. \u201cThey reduce the immune cell accumulation in the brain meninges [the protective membranes around the brain],\u201d <\/em>said Wheeler, who now works at Boston\u2019s Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the study, researchers also observed that chronic stress caused inflammatory immune cells, called monocytes, to flood the meninges<\/a>. These cells are linked to many inflammatory disorders. The findings suggest psychedelics might not only ease mental stress but also help in treating physical inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these ideas may sound radical, they\u2019re rooted in ancient tradition. Humans have used psychedelics for healing for thousands of years<\/a> \u2014 from Ancient Greece to pre-Inca civilizations. These practices were long dismissed, but science began revisiting them in the 1950s and \u201960s. Unfortunately, decades of research bans slowed progress. It wasn\u2019t until the late \u201990s that momentum returned, and now, several U.S. states have legalized the medical use of psilocybin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wheeler\u2019s study adds serious weight to the growing library of evidence. His research showed that psychedelics reduced fear and inflammation in mice, and even triggered similar responses in human brain cells\u2014 particularly in people suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD)<\/em>. Still, he\u2019s careful not to overhype the findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese substances aren\u2019t a magical cure-all,\u201d <\/em>he cautioned. \u201cBut the \u2018shamanistic\u2019 healing properties of the ancient past seem to have a significant level of scientific merit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He also believes it\u2019s time to widen our lens when it comes to mental health. \u201cOften, we think of mental health disorders based on their behavioral symptoms. However, we are likely leaving much underlying biology on the table by focusing solely on the brain,\u201d <\/em>Wheeler says. \u201cI hope that this leads to a revolution in thinking about therapeutic agents to treat neuropsychiatric disorders.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wheeler and his team are now collaborating with Massachusetts General Hospital\u2019s Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics. They\u2019re running a clinical trial using tissue samples from patients with MDD and\/or inflammatory diseases to explore how these psychedelic treatments work over the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not saying that psychedelics are a cure-all for inflammatory diseases or any other health condition,\u201d <\/em>explains Wheeler. \u201cBut we do see evidence that psychedelics have some tissue-specific benefits and that learning more about them could open up entirely new possibilities for treatments.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the grand scheme of modern medicine, the exploration of neurochemistry is still relatively new. But if psychedelics can genuinely reverse the damaging effects of chronic stress and depression, they could become a powerful \u2014 if a little trippy \u2014 ally in the fight against mental illness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all know stress is bad for us. However, a new study that features psilocybin and MDMA may have found the key to reducing the fear response, thus improving our mental and physical health. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":235752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,68],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-235731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychedelic-studies","category-science-and-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235731"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235757,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235731\/revisions\/235757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235731"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=235731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magic-mushroom-pale-close.jpg\")
Understanding The Fear Response<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/brain-vintage-diagram.png\")
Psychedelic Use Dates Back Thousands of Years<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/science-research-1024x586.jpg\")
Opening Up New Possibilities<\/h5>\n\n\n\n