Standard Lemma guide

psychoplastogen

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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1

noun

Meaning 1

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, human-sciences, medicine, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences, psychiatry, psychology, sciences

Examples

  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: psychoplastogène — any of a group of small molecule drugs that produce rapid, long-lasting effects on neuronal structure
  • German: Psychoplastogen — any of a group of small molecule drugs that produce rapid, long-lasting effects on neuronal structure