Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that psilocybin, a natural compound found in some psychedelic mushrooms, can relieve depression and chronic pain with a single dose.
Led by anesthesiology professor Joseph Cichon, the research was published in Nature Neuroscience on Oct. 2. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Chronic Pain Medicine Research Award.
Researchers found that a single dose of psilocybin reduced both pain levels and depressive behaviors in mice with chronic nerve injury and inflammatory pain. The finding marks a major breakthrough in developing treatments that could simultaneously address the two conditions, which are closely linked and often exacerbate one another.
“Psilocybin may offer meaningful relief for patients by bypassing the site of injury altogether and instead modulating brain circuits that process pain, while lifting the ones that help you feel better, giving you relief from both pain and low mood at the same time,” Cichon told Penn Med.
Specifically, the researchers found that injecting the compound directly into the prefrontal cortex had the same effect receiving the compound to the entire body. Injecting psilocybin into the spinal cord did not have the same impact. This critical factor differentiates psilocybin from other drugs used for depression treatment.
“Unlike other drugs that fully turn these signals on or off, psilocybin acts more like a dimmer switch, turning it to just the right level,” Cichon told Penn Today.
The study showed the effect of psilocybin to last almost two weeks. However, more research is needed to formally conclude psilocybin’s long-term effect.
“While these findings are encouraging, we don’t know how long-lived psilocybin’s effects are or how multiple doses might be needed to adjust brain pathways involved in chronic pain for a longer lasting solution,” neuroscience Ph.D. student and co-author Stephen Wisser told Penn Med.
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Unlike opioids and other compounds traditionally used to treat mood disorders, psilocybin is non-addictive and therefore safer, paving the way for the development of sustainable treatment.
“This new study offers hope. These findings open the door to developing new, non-opioid, non-addictive therapies, as psilocybin and related psychedelics are not considered addictive,” Cichon said.
