Friday, January 09, 2026

Beyond Psychedelics: The Next Generation of Precision Neurotherapeutics for Mental Healthcare

Recommendable! An overview article.

"... More specifically, psychedelics transiently and indirectly alter glutamatergic signaling in ways that promote widespread neuroplasticity and emotional recalibration, while ketamine engages similar plasticity-related pathways through NMDA receptor inhibition, increasing glutamate release and AMPA receptor signaling. However, these drugs act broadly across the brain, producing intense, variable, and subjective effects.

This has motivated a shift toward precision neuroscience. Rather than globally altering brain activity, next-generation drugs are being designed to modulate dysfunctional circuitry in two complementary ways:
by targeting glutamatergic signaling in defined brain regions and circuits involved in fear, mood, and emotional regulation, and
by minimizing hallucinogenic or dissociative effects.
Psychedelics revealed the importance of circuit remodeling; precision approaches offer a safer, more scalable path to harness it. ..."

Beyond Psychedelics: The Next Generation of Precision Neurotherapeutics for Mental Healthcare | The Scientist

No comments: