Hallucinations in the mini-brain
Artificial brain helped to study the mechanism of psychotropic substances
Yulia Vorobyova, Vesti
Recently, more and more researchers are interested in how various psychotropic and narcotic substances affect the human brain. Some of them have therapeutic potential: for example, they have anti-inflammatory and antidepressant effects.
Many of these drugs typically contain 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). It is a strong psychoactive substance from the class of tryptamines – a type of alkaloids. It is found in some plants, as well as in the secretions of some toads.
5-MeO-DMT has a thousand-year history of use: shamans of many tribes in North and South America were fond of it. And some doctors believe that the substance can be used for therapeutic purposes.
In this regard, Brazilian scientists decided to study how 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine affects brain function.
"This is the first time we have described psychedelic changes in the molecular functioning of human nervous tissue," says the head of the study, Professor Stevens Rehen.
His team was working with a miniature copy of the human brain. It is a 3D culture of nerve cells that completely mimic the work of our brain and react to various drugs in the same way as a real, natural analogue would react.
By injecting single doses of 5-MeO-DMT into the tissues of the mini-brain, the specialists used mass spectrometry to analyze the changes from the point of view of proteomics (protein science).
Researchers have found that 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine affects the work of almost a thousand proteins. Moreover, most of them play a crucial role in the normal functioning of the brain. But not all the effects of the psychotropic drug were negative.
For example, he strengthened the work of some groups of proteins that are extremely important for the formation of synaptic connections (contacts between neurons), and are also associated with the mechanisms of learning and memorizing information.
In addition, 5-MeO-DMT suppressed the action of proteins involved in inflammatory and degenerative processes that lead to deterioration of brain function. That is, scientists have shown that a psychotropic substance can serve as a kind of neuroprotector.
The authors of the work note: despite the fact that 5-methoxydimethyltryptamine has proved to be a powerful tool for triggering positive psychobiological transformation, it is still very early to talk about its widespread use.
"We have demonstrated the hidden clinical potential of substances whose use is restricted by law. Still, some of these drugs deserve the attention of the medical and scientific communities," concludes Rain.
His team plans to continue studying the mechanisms of psychotropic drugs: if in the future they will still be used in the treatment of depression and various disorders, it is necessary that such therapy be as safe as possible.
However, another development is more likely: to take as a basis the principle of action of 5-MeO-DMT, to study the advantages of other similar substances and to develop a new pharmaceutical drug that would work in the same way, experts add. This approach will eliminate legal and ethical disputes.
A scientific article based on the results of the study was published in Scientific Reports (Dakic et al., Short term changes in the proteome of human cerebral organoids induced by 5-MeO-DMT).
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