Episode 7: Bleeding-Edge Mental Health Treatment: Ketamine, Psilocybin, MDMA, TMS, VNS

The Evolved Caveman w/ Dr. John Schinnerer

New developments in the treatment of mental health challenges have been painfully slow to arrive. Talk therapy, lithium, prozac, electroshock therapy have all developed in the past 150 years. There have been a number of new medications developed but each has its own profile of positive and negative benefits. And few are highly effective (i.e., help more than 50% of the population they are intended to serve). In the past 10 years, however, there have been some noticeable improvements from some unsuspecting sources. These include psilocybin, ketamine, vagal nerve stimulation, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and MDMA. Tune in to this fascinating conversation with Dr. Rebecca Allen, who heads up the Seattle Neuropsychiatric Treatment Center which is comprised of 5 treatment centers throughout Washington.

Recent research out of Johns Hopkins, published in the prestigious journal Nature, found that critical windows of learning were re-opened in mice for 2,3 and 4 weeks depending on which psychedelic drug they were administered (and no, I have no idea how you discover the proper dosage of psilocybin for a mouse!). The mice were given either ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, LSD or ibogaine. Ketamine kept the social reward learning period active for 48 hours, psilocybin and MDMA opened the critical learning window for two weeks, LSD for 3 weeks and ibogaine opened it for four weeks. This duration aligns loosely with the self-reported after effects of each psychedelic drug in humans. This post-treatment period could offer a valuable window of opportunity for maintaining the learning state. It appears that these drugs impact the RNA and thus, the genetic level, turning on or off genes associated with social learning. So these drugs seem to be impacting at a spiritual level, an interpersonal level, a cognitive level, a neurological level and at a genetic level. It is research such as this (as well as research in larger mammals, i.e., humans) that has heralded a new age in the treatment now called the Psychedelic Renaissance.

Topics Covered In This Episode:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). For which mental health diagnoses is this treatment used? What is its efficacy?
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). For which mental health disorders is this prescribed? What is its rate of success?

Ketamine therapy. For what has it been shown to be helpful? Effectiveness rates?

Psilocybin (magic mushrooms). What disorders show promising results here? What percentage of the population responds positively to them?

Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS). What does this help?

MDMA (Street names: ecstasy or molly). What about the recent excitement around MDMA for healing? What disorders are responsive to MDMA?

About Dr. John’s Esteemed Guest - Dr. Rebecca Allen:

Dr. Allen is, among many other things,…

Partner & Director of Neuropsychiatry and Research at the Seattle Neuropsychiatric Treatment Center

Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington

Vice President of the Clinical TMS Society

and Past President of theWashington State Psychiatric Association

Find out more at https://seattlentc.com.

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