Non-hallucinogenic Psychedelic Analog Rapidly Reverses Effects of Stress on the Brain:
A novel compound similar in structure to the psychedelic drug ibogaine, but lacking its toxic and hallucinogenic effects, has been found to rapidly reverse the effects of stress in mice.
Researchers found that a single dose of tabernanthalog (TBG) can correct stress-induced behavioral deficits, including anxiety and cognitive inflexibility, and also promotes the regrowth of neuronal connections and restores neural circuits in the brain that are disrupted by stress.
"It was very surprising that a single treatment with a low dose had such dramatic effects within a day," said corresponding author Yi Zuo, professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz. "I had a hard time believing it even when I saw the initial data."
[...] Ibogaine has shown promise for treating addiction, but it causes dangerous heart arrhythmias in addition to being a powerful hallucinogen. TBG has not yet been tested in humans, but it lacks ibogaine's toxicity in animal tests, and it doesn't induce the head-twitch behavior in mice caused by known hallucinogens.
Initial studies of TBG found that it had antidepressant effects and reduced addictive behaviors in rodents. [...] The researchers conducted a range of tests to evaluate behavioral responses to stress and the effects of treatment with TBG. They also performed imaging studies to assess changes in the brains of the mice at the neuronal level.
Journal Reference:
Ju Lu, Michelle Tjia, David Olson, et al. An analog of psychedelics restores functional neural circuits disrupted by unpredictable stress [open], Molecular Psychiatry (DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01159-1)
Related Stories
Scientists Discover Psychedelic-Like Drug That Doesn't Cause Hallucinations:
Scientists have discovered a psychedelic-like drug that can produce rapid, long-lasting antidepressant effects in mice without the effect of hallucinations.
The molecule, called AAZ-A-154, acts on the same serotonin receptors in the brain as antipsychotic drugs (like clozapine) and psychedelics (like LSD), promoting neuronal growth and producing beneficial behaviors in rodents for weeks after a single dose.
Researchers say the treatment is comparable to the fast-acting nature of ketamine, which has recently emerged as a promising drug for conditions like depression, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, some psychedelic drugs that are being investigated for their medical effects, such as psilocybin, routinely trigger hallucinations, which means they should only really be used as a treatment under the guidance and supervision of experts.
Finding a safe alternative without the risk of hallucinations would be extremely useful clinically, but the thing is, we still don't know if these hallucinogenic effects are needed to actually reshape the brain.
[...] When this compound was administered to mice, it produced antidepressant-like effects within 30 minutes and failed to cause any head-twitches, an indicator in mice suggesting the compound would cause hallucinations in humans. Even at relatively high doses, the results appeared to be the same, with cognitive benefits lasting for over a week.
Related:
Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Analog Rapidly Reverses Effects of Stress on the Brain.
Journal Reference:
Chunyang Dong. Psychedelic-inspired drug discovery using an engineered biosensor, Cell (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.043)
(Score: 5, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday May 31 2021, @03:57PM (19 children)
But here's my approach: don't expose yourself to stress in the first place. That's a huge part of the reasons why I emigrated out of the US: the European work market puts as much emphasis on employee well-being as efficiency, whereas US employers only look at how many hours of abuse you can cope with.
Of course, there are other stressors. I'm over-simplifying. But if work is your primary source of stress, I suggest you find another job - or move someplace where work doesn't mean wasting your life on stupid shit that doesn't matter in order to keep your job.
(Score: 2) by sgleysti on Monday May 31 2021, @04:26PM (5 children)
Where are you in Europe? It bothers me to no end that in my engineering job, I'm fully aware that the company doesn't care about the work that I actually do day-to-day; they only care about time to market for their consumer products.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday May 31 2021, @05:21PM (4 children)
Finland at the moment. But it's not the only European country I've lived in or worked in. Most of Europe is way better than the US if you're a non-rich, ordinary citizen - even the really backwater parts of it. The US truly is stuck in the last century - the century before that even - compared to here. It's glaringly obvious as soon as you move out of it. Only Americans who never leave their neck of the woods think it's the best country in the world.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday May 31 2021, @07:12PM (3 children)
Wait hold up -- "Most of Europe is way better than the US if you're a non-rich, ordinary citizen" and "Only Americans who never leave their neck of the woods think it's the best country in the world". So ... if you're rich, you probably leave your neck of the woods a lot, likely for Europe (to buy purses or clothes or whatever) among other places, so ... they do or don't think it's the best country in the world?
Legitimate question. I doubt I could even get hired as waitstaff at one of these rich people parties so it's not like I can ask them what their perspective is on these things.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:47PM
For the rich, it generally is better to 'be' in America for a few reasons.
1. rich are insulated from the unwashed masses (aka, poor) a lot more in US
2. lower taxes, especially on cap gains and dividends
3. if you are really mobile, it doesn't matter where you actually call home. If you are domiciled in US while spending 10 months of the year in other nations, 1 month per nation, then it doesn't really matter. It actually makes more sense to say that you are 'living in USA'
Furthermore, US is the only nation where taxes are paid irrespective of residence. So basically, if you move to Germany, you pay higher taxes here but at the same time you have to file and pay any taxes at home. In other words, moving to a lower tax domicile doesn't save you taxes, in THEORY. In practice, the rich just start some corporations to pay for their expenses while abroad which makes the this part of the tax code moot. I think only Ethiopia has same thing about taxes.
So, if you are a working Joe or Klaus, then it really doesn't make too much sense working in US when there are nations with much better labour laws. Like here in Germany, the employer can't fire you because they don't like you one day -- it has to be agreed by the Worker Council (every business larger than about 25 employees needs to have one of these mini-unions that deals with management and they are elected volunteers from the employees, not some outsiders. And yes, unions would be additional things). On the other hand, if you are rich, you are probably not working for some employer for a living anyway. And even if you are, they are probably contracting your personal corporation that then deals with the taxes while you remain a poor soul without much to your name except that company CC.
Anyway, hope this paints a picture for you.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Tuesday June 01 2021, @05:31PM (1 child)
If you're rich, nationalism and citizenship is unimportant on a personal level. Just jet around and get the best of the whole world, which is definitely not the US in many things. They know that, of course.
You want their perspective? I think you'll be disappointed. You'll find a mix of "let them eat cake" cluelessness, selfishness, callousness, patronizing attitudes, arrogance, silly competitiveness, and if you manage a look behind the scenes, in some cases indulgence in sick fetishes. Easily spoiled rotten. Often they are also insecure, and even paranoid, and they try very hard not to let that show. Many of them are frauds who know, deep down, that they don't merit such wealth and power. There are decent people and gems among the super rich, but the snobby, haughty, and pretentious sort are common enough that the negative stereotypes about them are sadly fairly justified. There is an element of jealousy, making out that the rich are worse monsters than is actually the case, but on the whole, what everyone knows is correct. Most don't give a crap about the 99%, save to worry that if a revolution breaks out, they will be first against the wall. Think of the 99% as practically an inferior subspecies who must be constantly guarded against, and manipulated into placing blame for their troubles anywhere but on the rich. Many of them become quite practiced at manipulation. Yes, yes, blame the government! Blame those illegal immigrants. Blame the Commies and the Socialists. Blame the Democrats. Blame the brown people. Heck, even blame scientists. And, yourselves, don't forget to look in the mirror and admit it's your own fault. Whatever.
These are the captains of industry. I heard a speech by one of these CEOs once, at a company management club meeting after hours. And, wow. First, he said that if he'd sold the company and invested the proceeds in the stock market, he'd be a lot richer. But he didn't do it because if he had, we'd all be out of jobs, and he was such a nice guy, you know, and didn't want that to happen to us. Uh, huh. However, he was disappointed the company hadn't done better. We hadn't worked hard enough. We'd let him down. Then he moved on to the next whopper. Said that he didn't believe in this Global Warming nonsense. But, if it was true, then good! Because then the company would get to sell more product. Sell more air conditioners. It seemed everyone else had heard that crap before, as no one was giving him their undivided attention. He was kind of like the crazy grandpa who is still the head of the family, but who can be diverted into activities that won't harm the family business. Not a powerless figurehead, far from that, but not someone who inspires trust and as a consequence has a harder time than usual getting straight answers. On the staff, he had a psychiatrist whose real job, I think, was basically to rubberstamp the prescriptions for whatever meds he wanted to take, as if he was more knowledgeable about medicine than MDs. Rather like Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. That's how the rich roll.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Tuesday June 01 2021, @07:17PM
I thought it was that the snobby, haughty, and pretentious news (or people) made for good comedy [vimeo.com]. But let's not be too quick to judge [youtu.be] them. Probably a generational thing.
At some point, there's just too much cognitive effort to switch between believing the truth [slashdot.org] and believing what's going to make next quarter's numbers. It's so much less overhead to have your beliefs in line with corporate-wide financial targets, especially at the CEO level.
I have to suspect that people just start calibrating their perception of the world and what to spend money on/consume [youtube.com] against whatever their level of income/wealth is. People who don't do that, probably just retire and stop making the news -- maybe they're enjoying their retirement or sitting on boards of directors or the like. But then again, I'm not sure what kind of income/wealth we're talking about -- there's the rich, and then there's the ctrl/shift/alt/meta/super/hyper/ultra [globalnerdy.com]-rich categories.
At even the "rich" level, it stops making sense to carry around a pile of $100s to buy the kind of stuff you'd want to buy, at which point, what's your reference for relating to someone who pays cash for anything, or lives paycheck-to-paycheck or works multiple jobs unless you were to treat it as a formal field of study (or have a detailed discussion with your office's janitor)? Maybe we need something like that for the *-rich or even middle-class -- some rough standard for tiers of income/wealth, and the kinds of ground-truth concerns people actually have at those levels:
etc.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @05:02PM (2 children)
I think the psychotropic drugs help get your mind out of of the psychosis that has been drummed into you. When you see clearly again, you take yourself out of the situation causing the stress.
Not just work, could be friends who you don't really like, or goals that you don't really care about. You could do 10 years of therapy and try to figure out where that came from - or you could just realize it and step out.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:20PM
yeah, mushrooms make you remember who you really are and remind you how to love yourself. They also break fear, which causes a lot of stress and keeps people from doing what they really should be doing.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday June 01 2021, @11:14AM
"What you do not smell is called ibogaine powder. It is odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquid and it is among the more deadly poisons known to man".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 31 2021, @05:11PM (9 children)
And if you are poor or otherwise cannot escape?
Please understand, if this was even possible for you you were much better off than most Americans are. Don't look down on those who can't escape; this may be life-saving for them.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday May 31 2021, @05:16PM (8 children)
So what you're saying is, if you don't have the means or the will to cut loose with the madness around you, you need to do drugs to compensate? Do you realize what kind of a fucked up society this is? It ain't right.
Yeah, I escaped because I could and I was bold enough to take the leap. Not everbody can do it. But if you can't, drugs aren't the answer. That's for damn sure.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Monday May 31 2021, @06:08PM (1 child)
Drugs aren't a good answer, but from the individual's standpoint, it may be the best option available. I can take a drug, but I have no magic wand I can use to make necessary changes to society.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday May 31 2021, @07:53PM
s/society/planet/g; in great/grand/parent. Plus stress can come from multiple sources -- peer group, guardians/caretakers, media reporting style, neurochemical misregulation (?), general snowflakeiness, plus other unpredictable, intermittent [pvponline.com] causes [elsewhere.org].
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday May 31 2021, @07:06PM (5 children)
I am going to attempt escape to Canada in 2022 if all goes well, but if all does not go well, I'll be stuck here. Also, this isn't "drugs" as you understand or seem to be using the term, since it's explicitly non-hallucinogenic. Anything that will reduce the burden of anxiety and depression on a trapped population would be a godsend.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:23PM (2 children)
run to a country because it's white (whether you can see that or not), and then destroy it because you don't know what made it a desirable place to live in the first place. Just like the white canadians who are letting the Bolshevik Jew brainwashing ruin their country.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @10:11PM (1 child)
You should see all the whining in the Canadian newspapers today over a few dead Indian children found buried at a residential school from the 1800s. Prime Minister is crying (his specialty) and wants to give billions in reparations to the families. And none of the newspapers point out that most of these children died from diseases that were incurable at the time.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday June 02 2021, @03:27AM
Perhaps the newspapers aren't reporting on those diseases because they don't know what these children all died of.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday May 31 2021, @09:26PM
Thorazine shuffle without the shuffle
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday June 02 2021, @03:26AM
Hope you make it here someday.
(Score: 3, Funny) by sgleysti on Monday May 31 2021, @04:22PM (1 child)
Get me some of this stuff so I can spend even more time on SoylentNews. Win-win.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday May 31 2021, @11:09PM
Careful, you might get hooked and start freebasing CNN.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday May 31 2021, @05:04PM (1 child)
These mice are going to see God and start a mega church
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 5, Touché) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday May 31 2021, @05:33PM
Nah... They'll start a Minnie church.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday May 31 2021, @06:32PM (9 children)
Why wouldn't you want a good trip along with your mental health benefits? Darned puritanical types still deathly afraid somebody might have a good time are working really hard to make other people's lives miserable.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Monday May 31 2021, @07:07PM (1 child)
Ibogaine isn't always that good of a trip. It tends to induce vomiting among other things.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 02 2021, @08:56AM
So does beer. Mmm beer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:12PM
There's a non-insignificant risk of heart complications, especially in women.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by krishnoid on Monday May 31 2021, @08:15PM (1 child)
Where were they during the opioid crisis? I mean, like even during the current opioid crisis [youtu.be]?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 02 2021, @08:58AM
Free pass for addictive pointless drugs like nicotine and oxy. Hard jail time for weed and shrooms.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Monday May 31 2021, @08:34PM (2 children)
Trips aren't always good. What I hear from people who take psychedelics is that the scariest things entombed in your subconscious can break loose. A good environment and a good guide are supposed to improve the odds a lot but reducing the risk to zero might appeal to a lot of people.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @10:17PM
Yeah, and marijuana is a gateway drug to heroin. Hint: don't believe everything they taught you in grade school especially if the "educational" material was supplied by the DEA.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 02 2021, @09:07AM
It's more like you see through people's outward personality shell and see their real selves performing a little act. You can verify by watching TV while getting stoned - you start off following the story, then you end up watching some actors acting. It's still interesting but more of a technical thing about their acting skill.
That's quite a hard transition to go through if you're coming up in a formal situation where everyone is acting to some degree.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Tuesday June 01 2021, @12:18AM
Me personally?
There are lots of things other people like that I don't, and the idea of hallucinating does not appeal to me. I'm glad people who aren't into hallucinating have an option for psychedelic therapy.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:10PM (1 child)
This is an awesome discovery and I really hope it gets further research, but its not the first analog of ibogaine to have no hallucinogenic or toxic effects. The promise of 18-Methoxycoronaridine (18-MC) was so much more than this compound and I encourage everyone to do some light reading. In short it was supposed to be an anti-addiction panacea but it never really went much further. The only reason it even had human safety trials was because it was also a treatment for a tropical disease called Leishmaniasis. This may be a bit conspiratorial but in my opinion the reason they don't bring these drugs to market is because it directly impacts one of their main sources of income. Why would I sell a drug that will cure you of your dependence on another drug I sell you? I really hope to see this come to market but I wouldnt hold my breath either.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 31 2021, @07:28PM
yeah, it's not just one drug they sell these people either. it's more like we've turned you into a slave or zombie and can now control your whole life and make money off the whole process until you finally keel over. Jail, fines, bad money management, wasting time and not learning about the world around them, the list goes on and on. Why have free people who can challenge the rulers of the world, when you can have zombies (in the original sense of the word).