Sacramento doctors and researchers are leaning into two very different experimental paths for stubborn depression: transcranial magnetic stimulation, an FDA-cleared, noninvasive “brain reboot,” and lab-built drugs modeled on LSD that try to repair neural circuits without sending patients on a hallucinogenic trip. Local patients say TMS can feel life-changing, while UC Davis scientists and biotech partners are steering psychedelic-inspired compounds through early-stage studies.
Local Clinics Are Seeing Results
At clinics including ShaMynds Healing Center and Charmaine’s Wellness Center, patients describe real shifts after grinding through daily TMS sessions. "My depression is definitely in remission, and I'm doing a lot better than I was," patient Felicia Johnson told KCRA. Clinicians such as Dr. Alya Ahmad say they have offered TMS in the Sacramento area for about a year and report that some people who did not respond to medications finally see improvement with the treatment.
What The Research Shows
Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses targeted magnetic pulses to activate mood-related brain circuits, and newer accelerated protocols can compress a full course of treatment into days instead of weeks. After a course of TMS, roughly 50% to 70% of patients experience a meaningful drop in depressive symptoms, and insurers typically require people to try antidepressants first before they will sign off on coverage, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
Risks And Coverage
The treatment is generally well tolerated. The National Institute of Mental Health notes that the most serious known side effect is a seizure, which is reported as a very rare event. TMS has also shown clinical promise for obsessive-compulsive disorder and migraine, in addition to depression. Coverage rules still depend heavily on the insurer and the local Medicare contractor, and prior authorization policies are detailed in regional guidance from CMS and commercial payers.
UC Davis Scientists Build An LSD Analogue
In a separate research track, chemists at UC Davis have created (+)-JRT, an LSD-inspired molecule designed to boost neuroplasticity while showing reduced hallucinogenic potential in animal tests, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. David Olson, who leads the program, told KCRA that "these drugs are not psychedelics - they were inspired by the neurobiology of psychedelics, but they are completely new compounds." The authors and UC Davis collaborators say the long-term goal is to repair damaged neural circuitry so that some patients may not need lifelong medications.
From Lab To Clinic
Companies spun out of the UC Davis work are already moving drug candidates into human testing. Delix Therapeutics reports Phase I dosing and preliminary results for non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogens and has outlined plans for Phase II trials, according to the company’s news releases. The university has also backed an Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics to formalize translational research and outside partnerships, per Delix Therapeutics and UC Davis. Developers caution that proving long-term safety and clear clinical benefit in people will require time and larger trials.
Big Questions Remain
Researchers are still arguing over whether the full psychedelic “trip” is necessary for lasting therapeutic effects. Some scientists contend that increased neuroplasticity alone could be enough, while others highlight the role of psychological context and placebo effects. That debate, along with the limits of translating animal measures of hallucination risk to humans, means any LSD-inspired pill will need careful clinical testing before it can replace existing treatments, scholars note in a recent review in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews.
What This Means For Sacramento
For now, Sacramento residents already have an insurance-covered option in TMS when standard medications do not work, and scientists locally and across the country are pursuing non-hallucinogenic, plasticity-boosting drugs that could eventually expand the treatment toolbox. Patients are urged to talk with a psychiatrist or their insurer to check coverage details and identify clinical trials, and experts stress that encouraging lab data is not the same thing as an approved therapy, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
