Can Psychedelics Cure Brain Injuries? Taking a Look at the Science

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This article examines new scientific research that indicates psychedelic substances such as psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT have the potential to heal traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) by stimulating brain cell growth and stopping inflammation.

Synopsis

Current studies, including a recent exhaustive review out of the University of Victoria, show that psychedelics could bring a solution to the millions who are annually stricken with TBIs. Studies have shown that these chemicals can induce neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new pathways—and dampen the chronic inflammation that normally follows as a secondary effect of a head injury, potentially reversing long-term damage and associated mental disorders. While still in the early stages of research, these findings offer a promising new avenue for treatment of an injury for which no approved drugs are effective.

A Hidden Epidemic and a Glimmer of Hope

Every year, approximately 69 million people worldwide suffer from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), an insidious epidemic resulting from everything from sporting concussions and car crashes to battlefield injuries and brutal domestic violence [1]. For others, the initial trauma is merely the beginning of a lengthy, arduous journey. Ripple effects may extend to long-term memory problems, learning disabilities, depression, and anxiety. Even though the impact of these injuries is extensive, there is not an approved and reliably effective drug to treat them, and families and patients have minimal options. But a new and encouraging field of research is emerging in an unexpected location: psychedelic drugs. Scientists are now examining substances like psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, and 5-MeO-DMT, a very powerful compound found in the venom of the Sonoran Desert toad, as promising therapeutic drugs for TBI. A recent review by the University of Victoria (UVic) has summarized the growing body of evidence and suggested that these substances may revolutionize brain injury rehabilitation [2].

The Biology of Healing: Neuroplasticity and Inflammation

When head injury occurs, it triggers a complex inflammatory response in the brain. Initially, this inflammation is a vital component of recovery as it purifies the infected tissue of damaged cells. However, when this response becomes chronic, it has more ability to cause harm than benefit and leads to the long-term emotional and intellectual difficulties associated with TBI. According to Josh Allen, a postdoctoral fellow at UVic and a co-author of the review, this chronic inflammation is the main target for treatment [2]. This is where psychedelics enter. Experiments reveal that drugs like psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT have potent anti-inflammatory effects, which deflate this destructive chronic response [3]. 

Aside from deflating inflammation, psychedelics also have another, perhaps even more profound, effect: they cause neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain's remarkable ability to reconstruct itself by forging new neural pathways. This is vital for learning, memory, and recovery from damage. Traumatic brain injuries have the propensity to incapacitate neuroplasticity, trapping the victim in rigid patterns of mind and behavior that recur as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Psychedelics have the ability to open up these critical windows of brain flexibility. As Brian Christie, director of the UVic Concussion Lab, puts it, "By reopening windows of plasticity, psychedelics also prevent depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders from developing following brain injury, and provide routes to recovery"[2].

The Way Forward: From the Lab to the Clinic

The capacity of psychedelics to heal TBI is not simply speculative; it is supported by increasingly more preclinical and clinical research. For instance, in 2025, research published in BioRxiv revealed that psilocybin was successful in reducing neuroinflammation and facilitating neuroplasticity in a model of repetitive mild head trauma [4]. Another study indicated that not just psilocybin, but also ibogaine, another psychedelic drug, held therapeutic promise in the treatment of veterans with history of TBI, leading to significant improvements in function and mental health outcomes [5]. These experiments, however early, provide a fascinating foundation for further research.

This new area is not free from challenges. Researchers will yet need to determine the optimal doses, treatment regimes, and long-term safety of using these powerful drugs in TBI. Further research will be needed to understand how factors such as age, sex, and prior medical condition might influence the effectiveness of psychedelic therapy. But the initial results are a giant step. For the millions of people who suffer the long-term consequences of a brain injury, the potential for a drug that can actually heal the brain, rather than just alleviate symptoms, is an almost unimagined feeling of hope.

References

[1] The Potential Role of Psilocybin in Traumatic Brain Injury. (2025). PMC. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12190232/

[2] University of Victoria. (2025, September 17). Psychedelics may offer healing for concussion, traumatic brain injuries. UVic News. Retrieved from https://news.uvic.ca/media-release/psychedelics-offer-healing-for-concussion-traumatic-brain-injuries/

[3] Plummer, Z., et al. (2025). Examining the potential of psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT as treatments for TBI. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278584625002027

[4] Brengel, E. K., et al. (2025). Psilocybin as a Treatment for Repetitive Mild Head Injury. bioRxiv. Retrieved from https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.03.636248v2.full

[5] Cherian, K. N., et al. (2024). Magnesium–ibogaine therapy in veterans with traumatic brain injury. Nature Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02705-w

Disclaimer: Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy has not been approved by any regulatory agencies in the United States, and the safety and efficacy are still not formally established at the time of this writing.