Psychedelics are often associated with disconnecting from reality, but a recent neuroimaging study found that psilocybin can actually make our brain activity more connected to the world around us.

The researchers tracked moment-by-moment changes across 332 regions of the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, two methods of measuring brain activity. The 62 participants, who had no prior experience with psychedelics, took 19 milligrams of psilocybin in an oral capsule and then meditated, listened to music, or watched a movie.

With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers identified patterns in the brain for each kind of activity the participants were engaged in. But surprisingly, the more intense the psilocybin experience, the clearer those neural signals were. Rather than becoming lost in the midst of an increasingly unpredictable trip, reality seemed to be leaving a more distinct imprint.

These findings weren’t just apparent in the biological measurements but also in participants’ personal experiences. Those who exhibited the most defined patterns of brain activity also tended to describe more intense experiences of immersion and unity with the world around them, the boundaries between themselves and the environment sometimes feeling blurred.

“Under psilocybin, brain networks that help us process our inner world and the world around us became less distinct, but reorganized into patterns that reflected what people were experiencing,” explained Devon Stoliker, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences in Melbourne, Australia.

  • Elting@piefed.socialEnglish
    13·
    7 days ago

    Its funny seeing all the stories about research into psilocybin because it pretty much always ends up confirming what people who use them already know. It absolutely has therapeutic applications in terms of mental health. I have had good trips and bad trips, but the clarity of mind and reduction in depressive symptoms afterwards is always very apparent to me. It is far beyond time to decriminalize (and legalize) the ownership of fruiting bodies of psilocybin. What is so absurd is that you can buy, own, and transport the mycelium of psylocybin; the actual organism which produces the mushroom. Its just another one of those things that happens when lawmakers jobs become lining their own pockets and cowtowing to corporate interests instead of tending to keeping the law functional and sane.

  • Wren@lemmy.todayMEnglish
    6·
    7 days ago

    Everything I’ve read confirms my experience with psilocybin. I had two psychiatrists who not only supported me in adding microdoses to my drug regimin, but helped me fine tune the dose to manage depressive symptoms. Like the article says, it quiets the noise and makes me feel more present in my thoughts.

    However, this was in British Columbia, and after I moved to a different province I could no longer obtain psilocybin because it’s still criminalized here.

    It’s so strange to move from one place where my drugs are decriminalized and supported to another where I’m advised not to do them in case I get caught.