SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Can a psychedelic drug help cure depression, addiction, and even strokes? At UC San Diego, scientists are putting that idea to the test.
They’re focusing on DMT, a powerful psychedelic that our bodies already make in tiny amounts.
But at The Center for Psychedelic Research, it's not the first time they've studied how a psychedelic could benefit the human mind.
“We've established a track record on how to conduct this safely," Director of DMT Research Division at UCSD Jon Dean says.
As rates of depression, addiction, and chronic pain climb, these scientists say new solutions are needed.
"There is no cure for those," Neuroscience Director at UCSD Center of Psychedelic Research Fadel Zeidan says. "What we're doing now is we're starting to study a spectrum of different psychedelic medicines, including DMT, to see if these therapies, these ancient natural products, can significantly reduce depression and improve well-being.”
DMT has been used for centuries, and now, UCSD researchers are using modern science to explore its healing potential.
"It has been used traditionally in indigenous cultures for spiritual purposes and for supporting overall health and mental health for centuries," Dean says.
Now, a nearly 2 million dollar donation is helping them test what happens when they stretch the DMT ‘trip'.
"The idea here is that we can make these windows last upwards of 60 minutes as opposed to the 10 to 15 minutes known to predict health outcomes like alleviation of depression," Dean says.
Twenty healthy volunteers will get a dose of DMT and lie in an MRI scanner for an hour while researchers watch their brain activity in real time.
“While we're scanning people's brains under the influence of DMT, we're expecting several things to happen across the cortex and below the cortex," Zeidan says.
It’s part of what these scientists call a psychedelic renaissance, but they’re moving carefully, determined to build treatments that stand the test of time.
“We want to make sure we do the work in the most safe, careful and focused fashion so that we can make the work that we publish timeless," Zeidan says.
Their lab hopes to start recruiting participants this fall, with 20 people expected to participate in the groundbreaking study.
However, Zeidan's lab is currently looking for participants to take part in their phantom limb pain study. To learn more click here.
