A new study from the University of California, Santa Cruz, has revealed how psilocybin, the psychedelic substance found in "magic mushrooms," changes the brain by reorganizing connections between nerve cells. The findings could eventually help scientists develop treatments for mental health conditions that capture some of psilocybin's potential benefits without producing hallucinations.
The research, published October 15 in Nature Neuroscience, found that psilocybin rapidly encourages brain cells to form new connections and helps those connections mature. At the same time, it promotes the removal of certain older connections, suggesting that its effects involve more than simply increasing communication between neurons.
Experiments in mice also revealed something especially intriguing. The researchers were able to separate the cellular changes responsible for this rewiring from a behavioral response commonly associated with psychedelic effects. This suggests that some of psilocybin's effects on brain structure may be achievable without the hallucinations typically associated with the drug.
The discovery could provide a foundation for developing medications that enhance the brain's ability to adapt and reorganize itself, a property known as neuroplasticity. Such treatments might eventually offer new approaches for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other psychiatric conditions.
Source: ScienceDaily - Psychology — Read the full article on the original site ↗