The effects of psilocybin on the brain are “shockingly large” a new Washington University School of Medicine study has found.
Psilocybin is the active compound in magic mushrooms and for the study, seven people were given doses of the psychedelic drug, and then had their brains scanned by MRI.
The resulting heat map showed the drug desynchronising certain brain networks, and potentially enhancing its plasticity – with profound potential therapeutic applications.
This work adds to efforts to harness psilocybin’s potential to treat some forms of mental illness.
Neurologist Dr Nico Dosenbach, worked on the study and was also a participant, he told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.
Being in the MRI scanner as the psilocybin took hold was a strange experience, he said. ….more
