An 'Aspirin' For Depression and PTSD?

The psychedelic drugs, used to treat conditions like Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disease (PTSD), are hallucinogenic. This means that they have to be given by doctors and the patient observed for several hours. People have suggested that a non-hallucinogenic psychedelic drug could be self-administered 'just like aspirin'. Olsen and Tian (University of California, Davis) are looking into this possibility (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/apr/28/non-hallucinogenic-psychedelics-scientists-close-in-on-compound). They developed a sensor, that glows in the presence of an hallucinogen, when it interacts with a neural serotonin (a neurotransmitter chemical) receptor. They can use it to screen for psychedelics without hallucinogenic properties. One such compound (AAZ-A-154) has produced encouraging results in animal studies and is now being assessed for patient safety. The hope is that this drug (or something like it) could be prescribed. It could then promote neural plasticity, allowing the brain to 'rewire' (a property of psydelics), without causing hallucinations.