Do Psychedelics Make You Smarter?

Psychedelic substances have garnered significant attention in the last decade. Many patients are curious about the effects of these substances on the mood and wellbeing. Dr. Kaveh summarizes the latest research on whether psychedelics can increase intelligence and make us smarter.

As a reminder, these psychedelic substances are illegal in the Unites States. This research comes from carefully supervised medical investigations.

Ketamine: Notable Improvements in Cognitive Performance

Ketamine is an anesthetic that can have powerful effects on reducing depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. Ketamine has also been shown to have pro-cognitive effects independent of its antidepressant effects. Given its extensive medical use, ketamine has the most research demonstrating potential cognitive benefits. You can read Dr. Kaveh's full article here.

MDMA and Emotional Intelligence... at a Cost

MDMA was originally patented by Merk in 1914 and developed for use as an aid to psychological therapy, especially to increase openness in marriage and relationship therapy.

While MDMA is heavily touted for its positive effects on emotional intelligence and empathy, it is also neurotoxic. Recreational MDMA users demonstrate reductions in pre-synaptic serotonin transporter terminals. Some studies show recovery following abstinence but not all. This deficit in serotonin transmission is believed to cause impairments in:

• Declarative memory (including delayed word recall)
  • The worsening in recall is correlated to higher cumulative use of MDMA
• Prospective memory (remembering to carry out future intended actions, such as remembering to take medication)
  • This is worsened when mixing MDMA with cannabis
  • Prospective memory appears more heavily affected with higher doses
• Executive dysfunction
• Spatial working memory (the ability to store, review and manipulate task relevant information

Conversely, MDMA is known to increase emotional empathy, and it may facilitate social bonding. However, this may come at cognitive costs and with impairments in recognizing negative emotions (like fear) and potentially reducing defensive responses. Its benefits in PTSD are well studied but may be independent of cognitive changes.

Psilocybin and Cognitive Function

In most studies, psilocybin, derived from various mushroom species, does not have significant effects on cognitive function and processing speed in healthy adults. However, some studies show several improvements:

• Enhanced attention control, working memory, and executive function (most notably in patients with treatment-resistant depression)
• Improved emotional processing (also in patients with treatment-resistant depression)
• Increases in emotional empathy without significantly altering cognitive empathy and social cognition

Creative cognition appears to benefit in some controlled psilocybin settings, but not all. Working memory does not appear significantly improved with psilocybin. Like other psychedelics, the effects of psilocybin on cognition are complex and multi-dimensional and possibly related to participant expectation.

LSD: Impacts on Wellbeing and Creativity

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was synthesized by Albert Hofmann in 1938. LSD entered the United States in 1949 with abundant psychological research until legal controversies stalled its progression in the 1960s. Micro-dosing of LSD appears safe in the short-term but does not appear to provide any significant long-term changes in mood or cognition. However, short-term enhancements in mood, friendliness, arousal, and enhanced cognition (in the form of decreases in attention lapses) have also been reported.

In summary, “creativity-boosting" properties of LSD therefore appear to come at the expense of reduced distractor inhibition and impaired working memory. LSD, like other psychedelics, appears to induce a neuroplastic state of cognitive flexibility that can allow for re-balancing several key cognitive functions, such as:

• Cognitive stability vs. flexibility
• Convergent (direct) vs. divergent (out-of-the-box) thinking
• Sustained attention vs. updating
• Speed vs. accuracy

These cognitive shifts, especially with respect to creativity, are task dependent. It is believed that these are heavily influenced by modulating dopamine in a dose-dependent and baseline-dependent fashion.

Ayahuasca: Promising Data

Ayahuasca is a combination of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and various monoamine-oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitors (called β-carbolines). The MAO-A inhibitors increase the uptake of DMT. It is traditionally used in ceremonial fashion across South America.

While research is highly limited, data from ritual users demonstrates improvements in working memory. Importantly, there was no evidence of cognitive decline in the ritual users. An earlier study also demonstrated improvements in cognitive thinking style, in addition to improvements in mood and affect. While these measures show promise, and quality of life appears improved, much more study is needed.

Mescaline: Too Early to Tell

Similar to Ayahuasca, mescaline has a long tradition of ceremonial use in North America. Mescaline is produced by several cactus species, including the (slow growing) peyote cactus. Radiocarbon dating suggests mescaline use as early as 5700 years ago though potency appears lower than present day mescaline buttons (2.25% vs 8%). Mescaline was chemically isolated in 1896 by Arthur Heffter. While data is extremely limited, ritual use by Navajo Native Americans has not demonstrated cognitive impairments. More study is needed to establish any cognitive enhancing effects.

Should You Use Psychedelics to Improve Intelligence?

The majority of psychedelics remain illegal in the United States, and these studies demonstrate very early findings. Given the legal and medical risks, Clarus Health does not recommend using any substance for cognitive enhancing purposes, especially psychedelics. Ketamine is unique in its extensive medical use and safety profile. When used in the setting of depression, anxiety, PTSD, or chronic pain, some patients may experience cognitive benefits, but this should not be the primary intended indication for ketamine use. To learn if IV Ketamine is appropriate for you, contact Clarus Health today.