New research shows that the anti-anxiety and hallucinogenic-like effects of a psychedelic drug work through different neural circuits. The study, in a mouse model, shows that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics.

Earlier this year, a team of researchers from the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics revealed in Science that psychedelics spur cortical neuron growth by activating intracellular pools of 5-HT2A receptors. This neuroplasticity combats the withering dendritic spines characteristic of several neuropsychiatric disorders.