psychoplastogen

English

Etymology

Coined by American neuroscientist David E. Olson in 2018, from psycho- (“mind”) +‎ plasto- (“plastic”) +‎ -gen (“agent of production”), referring to the ability to rapidly promote neuronal changes via mechanisms of neuroplasticity.

Noun

psychoplastogen (plural psychoplastogens)

1. (medicine, psychiatry, organic chemistry) Any of a group of small molecule drugs (notably including some psychedelics) that produce rapid and long-lasting effects on neuronal structure and function and whose use is intended to produce therapeutic benefit after a single dose.
   • 2018, Tanya Calvey, Fleur M. Howells, “Chapter 1: An Introduction to Psychedelic Neuroscience”, in Tanya Calvey, editor, Psychedelic Neuroscience, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 5:

     Although the molecular targets of classic and dissociative psychedelics differ (5HT and NMDA receptors, respectively), their plasticity promoting properties are similar and are known to activate TrkB, mTOR, and 5HT_2A signaling pathways, suggesting that these key signaling hubs may serve as potential targets for the development of "psychoplastogens," fast-acting antidepressants, and anxiolytics (Ly et al., 2018).

   • 2021, Chris Letheby, Philosophy of Psychedelics, Oxford University Press, page 148:

     The fact that LSD, psilocybin, and so forth act as psychoplastogens—agents that increase the plasticity of the mind—is part of what explains their therapeutic effects (Ly et al. 2018, Olson 2018).

   • 2022, Maxemiliano V. Vargas, et al., Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness, Antonio Metastasio, Graham Campbell, Renee Harvey, Peter Schuyler Hendricks, Joanna Caroline Neill, Katrin H. Preller (editors) Can Psychedelic Therapies open a New Frontier in Mental Healthcare (Or Will the Bubble Burst?), Frontiers Media, page 123,

     FIGURE 7 | Comparison of traditional antidepressant treatments with hallucinogenic and non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen treatments. *Currently, no clinical trials have been conducted with non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens, and thus, their fast-acting and long-lasting effects refer to preclinical testing only.

Synonyms

• neuroplastogen

Translations

any of a group of small molecule drugs that produce rapid, long-lasting effects on neuronal structure

• French: psychoplastogène (fr) m
• German: Psychoplastogen n
• Italian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• Neuroplasticity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia