What is the impact of LSD on mental health?

Introduction

The impact of LSD on mental health has been a subject of scientific inquiry, with research exploring its acute and long-term effects on emotional processing, cognition, and consciousness.

Key Insights from Research Papers

LSD enhances emotional empathy, sociality, and prosocial behavior, but impairs the recognition of negative emotions like fear and sadness .
Acute administration of LSD can induce psychosis-like symptoms, yet may lead to increased optimism and openness without causing long-term delusional thinking.
LSD reduces reactivity in brain regions associated with emotional processing, such as the amygdala, during exposure to fearful stimuli, correlating with subjective drug effects.
Mystical-type experiences and altered states of consciousness are reported after LSD use, with higher doses leading to more pronounced effects.
LSD's subjective effects are mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor, and it can acutely disrupt functional brain networks while increasing connectivity between normally dissociated networks .
Population studies suggest that lifetime use of psychedelics, including LSD, is not associated with an increased rate of mental health problems and may be linked to a lower rate of these issues.
LSD has shown potential therapeutic value in the treatment of substance use disorders and anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases .
LSD may decrease mental time travel to the past, which could have implications for therapies aimed at conditions like depression.

Conclusion

Research indicates that LSD can acutely impair recognition of negative emotions and alter emotional processing, while enhancing empathy and sociality. It can induce mystical experiences and alter consciousness, with potential therapeutic benefits for certain psychiatric conditions. Population studies do not associate LSD with long-term mental health problems, suggesting its safety and efficacy in controlled therapeutic settings.

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What is the impact of LSD on mental health?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights from Research Papers

Conclusion

Sources and full results

LSD Acutely Impairs Fear Recognition and Enhances Emotional Empathy and Sociality

LSD enhances emotional empathy and sociality, potentially benefiting LSD-assisted psychotherapy by improving fear recognition and promoting prosocial behavior.

The paradoxical psychological effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

LSD elicits psychosis-like symptoms acutely but improves psychological wellbeing in the mid to long term, due to increased cognitive flexibility and emotional lability during intoxication.

Acute effects of LSD on amygdala activity during processing of fearful stimuli in healthy subjects

LSD acute administration reduces amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex activity during fearful stimuli processing in healthy subjects.

Alterations of consciousness and mystical-type experiences after acute LSD in humans

Mystical-type experiences are infrequent after LSD, with greater or different alterations of consciousness at 200 g dose compared to 100 g dose, and ego dissolution may reflect plasma levels of LSD, rather than robustly induced effects.

Modern Clinical Research on LSD

LSD can induce bliss, audiovisual synesthesia, altered perceptions, and mystical experiences, with potential therapeutic potential in psychiatry.

Effective connectivity changes in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness in humans

LSD alters directed connectivity within cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical pathways, potentially causing disintegration of information processing and contributing to the psychedelic state.

Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study

Lifetime use of psychedelics, including LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline, was not found to be an independent risk factor for mental health problems.

Dark Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD).

LSD is a powerful tool for understanding brain dynamics and may have therapeutic value in depression, anxiety, and addictions when combined with modern brain imaging methods.

Does LSD Have Any Therapeutical Value In Mental Disorders? A Non-Systemic Review

LSD, when administered safely in a supervised psychotherapeutic setting, shows potential in treating certain mental disorders, including drug and alcohol dependence and anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases.

Decreased mental time travel to the past correlates with default-mode network disintegration under lysergic acid diethylamide

LSD reduces mental space for the past, potentially benefiting depression treatment by reducing excessive reflection on one's past.

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