PSYCH NEWS - 09/03/2026

For anyone with even a passing interest in psychedelics, the word “neuroplasticity” (the brain’s ability to form and reorganise synaptic connections – its ability to change) is one cited pretty regularly. It can come across as a bit of a magic spell or panacea. However, new research published in Biological Psychiatry really illustrates the tangible physical changes to the brain. Psilocybin and MDMA may actually be fixing what amounts to the brain’s insulation – myelin. Myelin is the fatty substance that wraps around your brain’s nerve fibres to stop signals from leaking out. In PTSD, this insulating layer is shredded. These substances trigger a process known as “activity-dependent oligodendrogenesis”. Simply put, this means they force the brain to manufacture the specific cells it needs to patch this shredded layer of insulation.

Researchers used a rat model of “contextual fear conditioning” and administered repeated low doses of psilocybin or MDMA. They then quantified behaviours that either indicated anxiety or a lack thereof, and assessed the rats’ spatial learning and memory capabilities. The results showed that anxiety-like behaviours were reduced

This isn’t just a new perspective on a traumatic event, providing context/closure; it is a physical alteration of the system as a whole. This could go some way towards explaining the seeming longevity of psychedelics’ benefits. There is a great visualisation of this process on Drug Target Review.

The researchers were able to prove that this isn’t just a side-effect, too, by blocking the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor (the neurotransmitter responsible for the psychedelic effects). When 5-HT2A receptors were blocked, the repair work ceased as well. Researchers also used anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor (which blocks the formation of fear memories), as an alternative. Anxiety levels in the rats still dropped, but myelin damage remained. This suggests that suppressing traumatic memories provides relief but doesn’t fix the issue.

Anhedonia is that flat, grey state where you literally can no longer feel pleasure. It's perhaps the most brutal part of depression. New research published in Translational Psychology shows that a single dose of DMT might be an effective reset button. By looking at the medial prefrontal cortex (an area of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and self-reflection).

“At the cellular level, DMT enhances neurite outgrowth, synaptic density, and dendritic spine formation in cortical neurons”.

DMT physically, literally regrows the dendritic spines that wither away when you’re under chronic stress.

It happens fast. Really fast. Unlike SSRIs that take weeks to maybe improve your mood, with a wide variety of potentially debilitating side effects. This structural growth was there almost immediately. It’s a physical re-stabilisation.

Thiago C. Moulin, the study lead, from the University of Uppsala, Sweden, stated their conclusions:

“DMT could prevent mood-related symptoms during ongoing stress, but the strongest cognitive rescue appeared when dosing occurred after the stress protocol ended. This reinforces the idea that increased plasticity creates an opportunity for change, but the surrounding conditions may shape whether that change translates into functional recovery.”

This transition from simply managing a mental health condition to actively reversing the biological decay that causes it in the first place is a massive argument for psychedelics over traditional medications.

5-MeO-DMT is famously intense. Perhaps, the most intense psychedelic of all. Instant complete ego-death. A recent rodent study, published in Communications Biology on 2nd March, has finally mapped the brain during the experience. They’re calling it a state of “dissociated vigilance”. Despite displaying brain waves characteristic of deep sleep, the mice were in fact physically awake.

Bréant and Vyazovskiy, authors of the study, described their results as:

“truly puzzling. How could our subjects show undoubtable signs of wakefulness in their behaviour while having a brain full of signals associated with disconnection to the external environment?”

The authors note that the slow waves caused by the drug are not identical to sleep waves. The electrical signals were smaller in amplitude, while fast brain waves typical of normal wakefulness were still present. This suggests that psychedelics instead promote a unique hybrid state that can disconnect the brain from the external environment. The lines between the self and the environment just vanish.

Whether or not it is this unique brain state that directly causes the neuroplastic effects seen in human clinical trials is still uncertain. Further study is, as ever, required.

While the DMT jester/machine elves/entities may seem unbelievable, the sheer consistency of these reports is finally being treated as actual data. A new report in Wired magazine has explored this subject, with reference to a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology using a new protocol called “DMTx, “designed to extend the typically transient DMT experience via continuous IV infusion”. This avoids the intense confusion of the usual ten-minute blast off and allows more detailed analysis of the stages of the experience. This idea had, in fact, been suggested seven years earlier in a paper by neurobiologist Andrew Gallimore and psychiatrist Rick Strassman.

Gallimore and Strassman’s theory was that prolonging the experience would allow more clarity on these seemingly widespread, repeatable encounters with entities. The goal was to investigate whether or not they were internal or external phenomena.

Robin Carhart-Harris, one of the coauthors of the new DMTx study, believes that what may feel like a meeting with an intelligent entity is in fact an illusion.

“We're a very visual and very social animal, so we are already by our intrinsic nature primed to process beings,” he says, quoted in the recent Wired article. “And lo and behold, what comes up out of the highly entropic DMT state is a ‘sentient being.’”

Gallimore’s counterargument that the DMT experience is so completely alien that it would be impossible to imagine. They can’t be dismissed as unconscious phenomena.

Interestingly, the question of the entities' reality may in the end be unimportant. If the encounter helps people break out of psychological ruts, maybe that’s all that matters!

A recent press release from ACS titled “Less trippy, more therapeutic ‘magic mushrooms’” was published on 6th March, in relation to a study in which researchers revealed a new batch of modified psilocin derivatives. The data was published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. A team led by Sara De Martin, Mattarei and Paolo Manfredi engineered five psilocin derivatives. They were designed for slower, non-hallucinogenic release. The data was particularly focused on the novel compound “4e”.

In rodent testing, 4e was the most promising candidate because it enabled a gradual release of psilocin, which could potentially lower the hallucinogenic effects. Most importantly, 4e retained activity at the serotonin receptors believed to be responsible for psychedelics’ beneficial therapeutic effects, at levels comparable to psilocin.

But, does it actually work? Many argue that the insights gained from the trip itself are the entire point of the experience. Is fixing the chemistry, not the psychological perspective, just a plaster on a broken bone? Context is key.

For pharmaceutical companies and the healthcare system as a whole, a pill you can take at home safely, without the need for constant supervision or chance of a bad trip, is a game-changer. Eight-hour experiences, as with classic psilocin, are likely impossible to scale, at least currently.

Perhaps a multi-tier future is on the cards, with different compounds for different levels of trip desired. Clinical journeys (likely for those who can afford it) and simple prescriptions for others.

A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on March 5th, 2026, has revealed direct evidence of how ketamine exerts its rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

A research team led by Professor Takuya Takahashi from the Department of Physiology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, used a novel imaging technique to investigate ketamine’s effects. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging revealed ketamine’s unique impact on AMPAR, a glutamate receptor in the brain, associated with neuroplasticity.

Takahashi noted, "Although ketamine has shown rapid antidepressant effects in patients with treatment-resistant depression, its molecular mechanism in the human brain has remained unclear."

The ability to accurately map the effect of ketamine on AMPAR bridges the gap between preclinical research and clinical psychiatry. The results show that modulation of AMPAR is a key element of ketamine's antidepressant effects. AMPAR PET imaging may be a future tool for guiding personalised treatment.

TheraPsil, a world-leading organisation for psychedelic advocacy, has confirmed that Health Canada has granted the first-ever Special Access Program (SAP) approval. An anonymous veteran was approved for MDMA-assisted therapy in Manitoba. The individual has struggled with treatment-resistant PTSD, which has failed to respond to standard medications/therapies. This approval permits a combination of MDMA and highly specialised psychotherapy in a clinical environment.

It has been possible for health care practitioners to request access to restricted drugs through the SAP since January 2022. So, this is a pretty huge milestone to have crossed. This greenlight is an acknowledgement by Health Canada that, for some veterans, the risks associated with their psychological challenges outweigh those associated with the potential medicines themselves.

TheraPsil facilitated the application and continues to push for wider access across Canada. It appears that the acceptance of psychedelics into the Canadian healthcare system is now tangibly on the horizon.

On 3rd March, Psyence Biomed confirmed the successful export of natural pharmaceutical-grade psilocybin from South Africa to Australia. Their naturally derived psilocybin compound, known as NPX-5, is to be used in an upcoming Phase IIb clinical trial, targeting patients in palliative (end-of-life) care. This is a significant moment for the wider industry, which is dominated by novel, synthetic compounds manufactured in Western laboratories.

The trial is being undertaken in partnership with iNGENū, a specialist research organisation. It will involve 75 participants from across Australia. Patients will be divided into three groups. This is to test the efficacy of different doses. Natural mushroom extract is purported to be gentler than synthetic. Researchers are investigating whether the natural mushroom extract can provide a gentler, more holistic experience than synthetic alternatives. The additional alkaloids in the whole mushroom extract may make the experience more palatable, especially for those in palliative care.

The report illustrates two things. Successfully transporting a restricted substance across multiple borders requires a huge amount of red tape. This export is proof that the global supply chain for specifically botanical (as opposed to fully synthetic) products is now a reality. On top of that, it shows just how actively Australia is positioning itself as a future hub for continued psychedelic research.

San Francisco’s iconic, colourful Victorian houses are more than just a tourist draw. According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Hartlaub, they are a record of the societal shift of the 1960s.

The Westerfeld House at 1198 Fulton Street, San Francisco, for example, has a storied past. It was built in 1889, and eventually became a hub for the 1960s countercultural movement. It was a regular haunt for icons like the Merry Pranksters, the group led by author Ken Kesey (author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), that lived communally and pioneered the hippie movement.

These houses were once considered an eyesore and slated for demolition. They were described as “an architectural “pestilence” or even “Gothic horrors.”” Conversely, the beloved Painted Ladies along Alamo Square are now a Top 10 San Francisco tourist attraction.

The transition of these houses from post-war grey to vibrant colour was not part of town planning. It was organically driven by artists, house painters, and psychedelics. Over time, the aesthetic choice became a form of preservation. By making the homes vibrant and valuable, they made them socially important. The community effectively came together to prevent them from being bulldozed.

San Francisco is now entering a new era of psychedelic medicine, an era in which S.F. University was the first [in the US] to offer a degree in psychedelic studies. Perhaps these houses can serve as a reminder that the psychedelic renaissance did not begin in the lab.

David is one of our community bloggers here at Chemical Collective. If you’re interested in joining our blogging team and getting paid to write about subjects you’re passionate about, please reach out to Sam via email at [email protected]