Misc. news stories

Magic mushrooms are better known for producing hallucinations and altering people’s sense of reality than for treating brain diseases. Most people associate them with tripping, rather than Alzheimer’s disease. But a report on an individual patient has prompted scientists to ask whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, could have unexpected effects on the aging brain.

A recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry suggests that a single dose of psilocybin, paired with psychological support, may rapidly and safely reduce chronic suicidal thoughts in adults with severe depression. The findings provide evidence that psychedelic-assisted therapy tends to offer lasting relief for individuals who have not responded to standard psychiatric treatments.

Special Operations veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder experienced notable improvements in their symptoms after a single dose of the psychoactive drug ibogaine. Brain scans revealed that the therapy was associated with persistent increases in cerebral blood flow and the widespread reorganization of neural networks. The research was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

A recent study mapping the human brain reveals that our perception of time does not happen all at once, but rather unfolds across a series of distinct physical processing stages. As visual information travels from the back of the brain to the front, different groups of neurons handle specific parts of the timing process, ultimately creating our subjective experience of how long an event lasts. These findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.

A new study published in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies has found that people who have had a meaningful psychedelic experience report a significantly reduced fear of death, alongside heightened feelings of connection to themselves, others, and the world around them. Furthermore, the degree of connection closely tracks the degree of relief from death-related fear.

A recent study has found that specialized psychotherapy paired with doses of either LSD or psilocybin is associated with strong reductions in severe depression and anxiety. These mental health improvements emerged relatively quickly and took place within a standard hospital care program. The findings were published in the journal Psychiatry Research.

Researchers at the University of Vermont have uncovered a powerful new insight about how language works—one that overturns a cornerstone assumption in psychology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence that has stood for more than 70 years. Their study was published in Science Advances.

Just one insightful psychedelic trip can have a profound impact on a person, and a new study goes some way to explaining why. The research was published in Nature Communications.

A single dose of the psychedelic compound psilocybin, when paired with behavioral counseling, helped smokers quit at substantially higher rates than a standard nicotine patch paired with the same counseling. The results suggest that psychedelic treatments might offer a highly effective new approach for people struggling to overcome tobacco addiction. The findings were recently published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

On April 18, President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to accelerate the development of psychedelic drugs as medical treatments. The order calls for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to give expedited consideration to psychedelics that meet certain criteria. It also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to direct $50 million to match investments made by state governments into researching psychedelics as treatments for mental-health conditions.

A new study suggests that low doses of the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD, can enhance how the human brain processes emotional rewards. The research, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, points to specific shifts in electrical brain activity following the administration of a small dose in patients experiencing mild depression. These neural changes corresponded with an improved mood that lasted for days after the initial exposure.

A recent study published in Nature Medicine suggests that a brief psychedelic experience combined with talk therapy can rapidly and safely reduce symptoms of severe depression.

A new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology sheds light on how psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms, may produce anti-depressant effects. Researchers suggest that its benefits could be linked to specific patterns of serotonin receptor activity and increased flexibility in brain cells.

A recent study published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry sheds light on how psilocybin alters human brain activity, shifting it from a resting state to a highly engaged pattern of processing.