Misc. news stories

A new study published in Human Brain Mapping suggests that a single high dose of psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” changes how information flows through specific brain circuits up to a month later.

A new study published in Neuroscience Bulletin suggests that mescaline, a chemical found in certain cacti that can cause hallucinations, may alter how the brain responds to incoming sensory information.

Recent scientific exploration into psychedelics provides evidence that these powerful substances can profoundly reshape human brain function and mental health. A wave of new research suggests that lysergic acid diethylamide, widely known as LSD, alters electrical brain rhythms to promote mental flexibility, elevate mood, and even protect against neurological damage.

From the May issue of Frontiers in Neuroscience comes the truly remarkable case study of a woman crippled by Alzheimer’s recovering speech, bladder control, and motor function after a single dose of psilocybin mushrooms.

A recent small study analyzes how the psychedelic drug LSD reshapes brain activity. The research shows that the substance boosts widespread neural synchronization while blurring the boundaries between sensory perception and abstract thought. The findings were published in PLOS Computational Biology.

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.