Shaping the renaissance of psychedelic research.

Psychedelic drugs have a rich and vibrant history as clinical aids for psychiatry. For two decades after the discovery of lysergide (LSD) in the 1940s, psychedelics were extensively studied and clinical progress was good. But research collapsed rapidly in 1966 when LSD was made illegal, and there was a subsequent hiatus of psychedelic research. After 40 years, this pause is now coming to an end, with many new studies and a refreshing approach to the research of psychedelic drugs. Since the late 1980s, several new organisations have emerged: the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Heff ter Research Institute, and the Beckley Foundation are all revisiting psychedelic research , undertaking preclinical studies with LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, ibogaine, and methylenedioxymetamfetamine (MDMA). Several phase 2 clinical studies have been published and more are underway, with an emphasis on anxiety disorders and addictions. By undertaking methodologically sound studies, contemporary researchers are describing how psychedelics—when carefully managed in a super vised clinical environment—can safely harness the transformative power of the peak experience to improve the engagement and depth of psychotherapy. With information from functional neuroimaging and reassessment of the harm and safety profi les of psychedelic drugs, there is a strong commitment to get research into psychedelics right this time around, by undertaking meticulously planned randomised, controlled, double-blind studies, in contrast to the anecdotal studies of the 1960s. A noticeable shift in attitudes from the mainstream medical community has seen increasing publications in high impact journals in recent years and a major UK conference in 2011, Breaking Convention. The active component in so-called magic mushrooms, psilocybin, has been investigated for the treatment of the anxiety, pain, and existential crises associated with end-stage cancer and also as a potential new treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Ketamine has been studied as a treatment for alcohol and opiate addictions and for management of depression. Psychedelic research can also teach us about the nature of consciousness. In a study at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA), psilocybin was used to explore how an induced peak experience can improve negative personality traits, and at Imperial College London (London, UK), functional MRI was used to show how psilocybin can improve *A John Camm, Irene Savelieva Department of Cardiological Sciences, St George’s University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK [email protected]