A psychedelic renaissance: Novel treatments for mental illnesses

David Nutt

Chapter 24 in Research Handbook on Drugs and Society, 2026, pp 305-316 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Psychedelics from natural sources, such as magic mushrooms, peyote and ayahuasca brews, have been used by humans for over 7,000 years. In the past 80 years their use has undergone a renaissance in two phases. The first in the 1950s and 1960s followed the invention of LSD and its use in psychiatry. This phase was terminated in 1971 when LSD and most other psychedelics were banned under the UN Conventions. The second phase started at the turn of this century with the pharmacology of psychedelics revealed as acting at a serotonin receptor subtype (the 5-HT2A) after which human neuroimaging studies discovered the unique brain signature of the psychedelic state. These neuroscience advances gave impetus to new clinical trials that confirmed the earlier evidence of efficacy in disorders such as depression anxiety and addiction, so heralding a new era in psychiatry treatments.

Keywords: Psychedelics; Psilocybin; LSD; DMT; Ketamine; Serotonin receptors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781802209136
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