Psychedelic Science Newsletter
Issue #27March 9, 20267 studies

Magic mushroom metabolite psilocin disrupts 40Hz brain waves in rats' right hemisphere

This week brought a wave of research on psychedelics and ketamine, revealing new insights into how these compounds work in the brain and their potential for treating depression, PTSD, and addiction.

🧠 Psilocin Disrupts Brain Synchronization in Specific Regions

  • Researchers gave 8 male rats psilocin (the active form of psilocybin) and measured brain wave responses to 40Hz auditory clicks

  • Psilocin selectively reduced phase-locking (neural synchronization) to 40Hz stimulation in the right temporal cortex only—no changes occurred in frontal regions or the left hemisphere

  • The compound had no effect on responses to 80Hz stimulation, suggesting frequency-specific disruption of low-gamma brain oscillations

Why it matters: These 40Hz brain waves are disrupted in psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, and this study reveals that psilocybin's effects on perception may work through region-specific changes in neural synchronization.

Key Findings

💊 Ketamine and Psilocybin Help Rats Break Cocaine Habits

  • Male rats trained to self-administer cocaine received either psilocybin (1.25-5 mg/kg) or ibogaine (10-40 mg/kg) during 10 days of extinction training

  • Both psychedelics significantly reduced active lever pressing during extinction—psilocybin worked after the second dose, while ibogaine showed effects after just one dose

  • Neither compound significantly altered cue-induced relapse behavior, though psilocybin showed a trend toward protection

💡 Psychedelics may help break learned drug-seeking behaviors, though preventing relapse remains a challenge.
Top 20% journal 🔗 Addiction biology 🗓️ Mar 4

🔬 MDMA and Ketamine Show Mixed Results for PTSD

  • A systematic review of 13 randomized controlled trials found 6 studies on MDMA-assisted therapy and 7 on ketamine for PTSD

  • 4 out of 6 MDMA studies showed statistically significant improvement in PTSD symptoms, while only 3 out of 7 ketamine studies demonstrated significant efficacy

  • Most studies focused on civilian populations, with limited data on veterans (1 MDMA study, 2 ketamine studies)

💡 MDMA appears more consistently effective than ketamine for PTSD, but both therapies were generally well tolerated.
Top 50% journal 🔗 Am J Health Syst Pharm 🗓️ Mar 5

💰 Psychedelic Trials Exclude Lower-Income Participants

  • Analysis of 98 psychedelic clinical trials found only 12% reported participant income data and 31% reported education levels

  • In US-based trials, 93% of participants had some college education (versus 62% nationally) and median incomes substantially exceeded national averages

  • The widespread underreporting of socioeconomic data makes it impossible to assess whether results apply broadly across income levels

💡 Psychedelic therapy research may not represent the full population that could benefit from these treatments.
🥉 Top 5% journal 🔗 Nature. Mental health 🗓️ Mar 3

🧬 Brain Receptors Explain Ketamine's Antidepressant Effects

  • PET brain scans of patients with treatment-resistant depression revealed a negative correlation between AMPA receptor density and illness severity

  • After ketamine treatment, changes in AMPA receptor density in specific brain regions correlated with antidepressant response

  • The receptor changes partially restored normal AMPA patterns in affected brain areas

💡 Ketamine may work by rebalancing specific brain receptors that become disrupted in severe depression.
🥈 Top 2% journal 🔗 Molecular psychiatry 🗓️ Mar 4

⚠️ Ayahuasca and Antidepressants May Interact Dangerously

  • Computer modeling predicted that combining ayahuasca with antidepressants fluoxetine or paroxetine increases exposure to both DMT and harmine

  • The interaction occurs because these antidepressants inhibit liver enzymes that normally break down ayahuasca compounds

  • Even modest increases in DMT levels could intensify serotonergic effects in people already taking antidepressants

💡 People taking certain antidepressants may face increased risks when using ayahuasca, highlighting the need for medical guidance.
Top 20% journal 🔗 Frontiers in molecular biosciences 🗓️ Mar 6

❤️ LSD Microdosing Shows No Heart Risks in Mice

  • Researchers gave mice chronic low doses of LSD and monitored heart function with echocardiography over 8 weeks

  • Control compounds (serotonin and d-fenfluramine) caused significant heart valve problems and ventricular thickening

  • LSD at subhallucinogenic doses produced no detectable changes in heart structure or function

💡 Long-term microdosing of LSD may not carry the cardiovascular risks associated with other serotonin-activating drugs.
Top 20% journal 🔗 ACS pharmacology & translational science 🗓️ Mar 6

Implications

This research reveals psychedelics and ketamine work through distinct brain mechanisms—from disrupting specific neural rhythms to rebalancing receptor systems. While showing promise for depression, PTSD, and addiction, safety concerns around drug interactions and questions about equitable access highlight the need for careful clinical implementation.

Studies in this issue

Primary sources used for this newsletter.

  1. Serotonin's influence on brain gamma waves: psilocin's stronger effects on right-side hearing responses in rats
    main storyJournal of neurophysiology2026-03-04PMID 41779518
  2. Psilocybin and Ibogaine help reduce cocaine cravings but may not stop relapse
    key findingAddiction biology2026-03-04PMID 41780506
  3. Predicting interactions between ayahuasca compounds and antidepressants using body-based drug modeling
    key findingFrontiers in molecular biosciences2026-03-06PMID 41788629
  4. Benefits and risks of psychedelics for treating posttraumatic stress disorder
    key findingAmerican journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists2026-03-05PMID 41784123
  5. How income and education are reported in psychedelic clinical trials
    key findingNature. Mental health2026-03-03PMID 41773283
  6. Possible Heart Risks of Small LSD Doses in Mice
    key findingACS pharmacology & translational science2026-03-06PMID 41789300
  7. Changes in AMPA receptors may explain ketamine's effectiveness in hard-to-treat depression
    key findingMolecular psychiatry2026-03-04PMID 41781722

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