Psilocybin's possible medical uses beyond psychedelic effects through shared actions with ketamine

Rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine and psilocybin may relieve symptoms of major depressive disorder within hours.

• Ketamine and psilocybin act through different mechanisms but both enhance synaptic plasticity in mood-regulating circuits.
• A shared mechanism between the two substances involves BDNF-TrkB signaling, which is important for creating and strengthening synapses.
• Psilocybin's therapeutic effects may be separated from its hallucinogenic properties through biased agonism at 5-HT receptors.
• Comparing the mechanisms of ketamine and psilocybin reveals both overlapping and unique characteristics that could aid in developing new antidepressants.
• Understanding the interaction between serotonergic, glutamatergic, and neurotrophic systems may help create fast-acting antidepressants that are durable and non-hallucinogenic.

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