The mechanisms and chemistry at work in the brain are a mystery still being unraveled by science.

There was a time when trying to gain an understanding of the brains mechanisms consisted of dropping huge amounts of LSD and seeing what happened. Times have changed though, between political correctness and budget cuts scientists are reduced to going over results of studies carried out in the 60’s and 70’s.

Still there is much to learn from this data, with new technology and perspectives this data can yield interesting results. In this case sifting through thousands of records neuroscientist Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen discovered that one dose of LSD is enough to drop alcohol abuse by nearly 60%, compared to a 38% drop for people that were taking a placebo. Imagine what 2 let alone 3 doses could do?

Studies of this type are called a meta-study, the study of a study. This is going to be a more common practice moving in to the future. Just the fact that there is such a rich history of already carried out studies makes this a valuable tool, there is history there, why not use it. Also as technology and our understanding moves forward they can also throw a new light on an old study. Like detectives using new DNA sequencing to solve old unsolved murders, this is cold case science and it can get results.

The complex chemistry of the brain is still being understood by scientists, the study of psychoactive drugs such as LCD does actually have have a serious purpose, with disorders like depression being one of the many psychological disorders that will benefit from these new understandings.

Remember kids taking recreational drugs is not fun and games it serious business that should be left to serious scientists studying hippies. Now can anyone explain the pink elephant standing in the corner drinking my beer.

Source: Nature