NIH Awards $3.4 Million to Study Psilocybin as Treatment for Cocaine Addiction and Depression
UTHealth Houston researchers received a five-year, $3.4 million NIH grant to study whether psilocybin-assisted therapy can treat adults with both cocaine use disorder and major depressive disorder. About 50 participants will receive up to two doses of psilocybin combined with acceptance and commitment therapy.
UTHealth Houston researchers have received a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether psilocybin-assisted therapy can treat adults with both cocaine use disorder and major depressive disorder.
The study will enroll about 50 adults diagnosed with both conditions. Participants will receive up to two doses of psilocybin at a UTHealth Houston clinic over a 12-week period, combined with multiple sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT.
"A lot of people with cocaine use disorder also have depression," said co-principal investigator Thomas D. Meyer, PhD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School. "Instead of treating each condition separately, why don't we target people with comorbid cocaine use disorder and depression?"
Psilocybin, the active compound in "magic mushrooms," has shown promise in clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression. Researchers believe it may also help with addiction by promoting neuroplasticity and increasing cognitive flexibility.
"Psilocybin appears to enhance communication across brain regions," said co-principal investigator Joy M. Schmitz, PhD, director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction. "This may be particularly beneficial for people with these disorders who often get stuck in rigid and unhelpful ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving."
Co-principal investigator Angela Stotts, PhD, said ACT and psilocybin are expected to work together. "We think psilocybin and ACT will work together to assist people in changing ingrained behavior patterns like cocaine use."
Cocaine use disorder affects about 1.4 million people in the United States. Among that population, lifetime prevalence estimates of depression are as high as 40 percent. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for cocaine addiction.
The study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the NIH. Researchers will also analyze brain scans taken throughout the study to observe changes in response to the drug.
