University of Iowa researchers are studying whether psychedelic drugs can help to treat alcohol use disorder. Participants who are struggling with alcohol will be given either ketamine or psilocybin. UI psychiatry professor Peg Nopoulos says research suggests psychedelics have the potential to help those who are being impacted by addiction.
It’s possible, she says, that psychedelics can influence abnormal brain circuitry that’s associated with addiction. Nopoulos says there are few medication assistance options available for substance use disorders.
That’s electroconvulsive therapy. The study is still in its early stages, and UI researchers are actively recruiting participants who have alcohol use disorder.
