Psilocybin May Present Unique Risks During the Postpartum Period

In a first-of-its-kind study appearing in Nature Communications, an interdisciplinary team from the university’s Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics (IPN) dosed mouse mothers with psilocybin and found that the drug amplified anxiety and depressive-like symptoms associated with perinatal mood disorders — mental health conditions that can arise during or after pregnancy.

Researchers Develop an LSD Analogue with Potential for Treating Schizophrenia

University of California, Davis, researchers have developed a new, neuroplasticity-promoting drug closely related to LSD that harnesses the psychedelic’s therapeutic power with reduced hallucinogenic potential. The research highlights the new drug’s potential as a treatment option for conditions like schizophrenia, where psychedelics are not prescribed for safety reasons.

UC Davis Researchers Achieve Total Synthesis of Ibogaine, Creating Opportunities to Study Its Therapeutic Properties

In a study appearing in Nature Chemistry, researchers at the University of California, Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics (IPN) report the successful total synthesis of ibogaine, ibogaine analogues and related compounds from pyridine — a relatively inexpensive and widely available chemical.

Exploring the Psychedelics Within Us

Our bodies are pharmaceutical factories, but did you know that our bodies also naturally produce psychedelics? Why do we make them? How do they work? What are their functions? And can we leverage them to mitigate neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric conditions? The UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics is exploring those questions.