Researchers report that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, destabilizes a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking. The findings provide a neurobiological explanation for the drug's mind-bending effects.
Researchers report that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, destabilizes a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking. The findings provide a neurobiological explanation for the drug's mind-bending effects.
"There's a massive effect initially, and when it's gone, a pinpoint effect remains," said co-senior author Nico U. F. Dosenbach, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology."That's exactly what you'd want to see for a potential medicine. You wouldn't want people's brain networks to be obliterated for days, but you also wouldn't want everything to snap back to the way it was immediately. You want an effect that lasts long enough to make a difference.
To fill that gap, Siegel pulled together a team including Dosenbach, who is an expert in brain imaging, and co-senior author Ginger E. Nicol, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry who has experience running clinical trials with controlled substances.
"The idea is that you're taking this system that's fundamental to the brain's ability to think about the self in relation to the world, and you're totally desynchronizing it temporarily," Siegel said."In the short term, this creates a psychedelic experience. The longer-term consequence is that it makes the brain more flexible and potentially more able to come into a healthier state.
During the experience, participants were asked to rate their feelings of transcendence, connectedness and awe using the validated Mystical Experience Questionnaire. The magnitude of the changes to the functional networks tracked with the intensity of each participant's subjective experience.
Nervous System Mental Health Research Psychology Research Psychedelic Drugs Brain-Computer Interfaces Intelligence Spirituality
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