Scientists at the University of Basel have shown that LSD reduces activity in the region of the brain related to the handling of negative emotions like fear.
The results, published in the scientific journal Translational Psychiatry, could affect the treatment of mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety.
Hallucinogens have many different effects on the psyche; among other things, they alter perception, thought, and temporal and emotional experience.
After the Basel-based chemist Albert Hofmann discovered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in the 1940s, there was a huge amount of interest in the substance, particularly in psychiatry.
It was hoped, for example, that it could provide insights into the development of hallucinations, and studies were conducted on its effectiveness on illnesses such as depression or alcohol dependency.
In the 1960s, LSD was declared illegal worldwide, and medical research on it came to a standstill.
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