Psychedelic mushrooms can do more than make you see the world in kaleidoscope. Research suggests they might have permanent, positive effects on the human brain.
A mind-altering compound found in about 200 species of mushroom is being explored as a potential treatment for depression and anxiety. People who consume these mushrooms, after “trips” that can be a bit scary and unpleasant, report feeling more optimistic, less self-centered and even happier for months after the fact.
But why do these trips change the way people see the world? According to a study published last week in Human Brain Mapping, the mushroom compounds could be unlocking brain states usually experienced only when we dream, changes in activity that could help unlock permanent shifts in perspective.
The study examined brain activity in those who received injections of psilocybin, which gives “shrooms” their psychedelic punch.
Despite a long history of mushroom use in spiritual practice, scientists have only recently begun to examine the brain activity of those using the compound, and this is the first study to attempt to relate the behavioral effects to biological changes.
After the injections, the 15 participants were found to have increased brain function in areas associated with emotion and memory. The effect was strikingly similar to a brain in dream sleep, said Robin Carhart-Harris, a post-doctoral researcher in neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and co-author of the study.
“You’re seeing these areas getting louder, and more active,” he said. “It’s like someone’s turned up the volume there, in these regions that are considered part of an emotional system in the brain. When you look at a brain during dream sleep, you see the same hyperactive emotion centers.”
The subjects also had decreased activity in the parts of the brain associated with high level cogition.
“These are the most recent parts of our brain, in an evolutionary sense,” Carhart-Harris said. “And we see them getting quieter and less organized.”
It’s not clear why such effects can have more profound long-term effects on the brain than our nightly dreams. But Carhart-Harris hopes to see more of these compounds in modern medicine.
