University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers whittled away at LSD’s core multiring structure and synthesized new, simplified versions to probe its functionality. The researchers developed several compounds with reduced hallucinogenic and cardiotoxic effects while identifying one compound that produced antipsychotic-like effects.

“By systematically deconstructing LSD, we have identified simplified cores that are better starting points for medicinal chemistry efforts,” said study corresponding author David E. Olson, director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics and a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis.