Why Do Mind-Altering Drugs Make People Feel Better? Scientists pursue non-hallucinogenic psychedelics that still improve mental health

Ketamine and psilocybin can produce rapid, lasting improvements in depression and related conditions, even though they also cause major subjective effects. Early studies suggested that the antidepressant impact can persist beyond the acute “trip,” raising the key question of why these mind-altering drugs help. A major thread in the science is neuroplasticity. Preclinical work linked ketamine to growth of dendritic spines in the prefrontal cortex and showed that blocking dendritic-growth pathways can remove the behavioral benefits. Researchers extended similar ideas to multiple psychoactive drugs, reporting brain effects such as dendrite growth across compounds including LSD and DMT. David Olson and Delix Therapeutics propose separating therapeutic benefits from hallucination by engineering “neuroplastogens” or “psychoplastogens” that stimulate dendritic growth without subjective psychedelic effects. The story highlights brain-imaging and mystical-experience arguments from other researchers, then weighs emerging industry bets and early clinical signals, emphasizing both promise and uncertainty due to small samples and limited controls.