A new study suggests that the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms may change the brain in ways that last for weeks after a single experience.
Researchers from UC San Francisco and Imperial College London found that psilocybin appeared to increase brain flexibility, improve emotional insight, and boost well-being long after the drug had left the body.
The findings were published in Nature Communications and may help explain why psychedelic therapy is attracting growing attention from scientists studying depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health conditions.
Psilocybin is a natural chemical found in certain mushrooms often called magic mushrooms. When taken in high enough amounts, it can produce powerful changes in perception, emotions, thoughts, and consciousness.
For decades, psychedelic substances were largely ignored by mainstream medicine because of legal restrictions and public concerns. But in recent years, scientists have restarted research into whether these substances could help treat mental illness when used carefully in medical settings.
The new study focused on how psilocybin changes the brain itself.
Researchers studied 28 healthy adults who had never previously used psychedelic drugs. By choosing healthy volunteers, scientists hoped to better understand the direct effects of psilocybin without interference from pre-existing psychiatric conditions.
The research team used several types of brain imaging and monitoring technology. These included EEG, which records electrical activity in the brain, functional MRI scans, and diffusion tensor imaging, which examines connections between brain regions.
The volunteers first received a very small 1 milligram dose of psilocybin that researchers treated as a placebo. The dose was too weak to create a strong psychedelic experience.
After several weeks, participants returned and received a much larger 25 milligram dose capable of producing a full psychedelic trip.
During the sessions, researchers closely monitored the volunteers’ brain activity and psychological responses.
One of the most important findings involved something called brain entropy. In simple terms, entropy refers to how flexible and varied brain activity becomes.
Normally, the brain often follows predictable patterns of activity. During the psychedelic experience, however, the researchers observed a dramatic increase in entropy. Brain activity became more diverse, less rigid, and more flexible.
Scientists believe this temporary increase in flexibility may help explain why some people experience deep emotional breakthroughs or shifts in thinking during psychedelic therapy.
The researchers found that participants with the largest increases in brain entropy were also the most likely to report emotional insight the following day.
Many volunteers described feeling greater self-awareness, emotional clarity, and understanding of personal issues.
Researchers believe this psychological insight may be one of the key reasons psychedelic therapy could improve mental health.
The effects did not end when the psychedelic experience was over.
A month later, researchers used brain scans to examine structural changes inside the brain. They found evidence that certain brain pathways appeared denser and more organized after psilocybin exposure.
These pathways are important because they help different brain regions communicate with each other.
The scientists noted that this pattern appeared opposite to some of the brain changes commonly seen with aging, where neural connections often weaken over time.
Although researchers still do not fully understand what these structural changes mean, they say the findings are highly important because they suggest psychedelics may influence the brain far beyond the immediate drug experience.
The participants also reported improvements in mood and overall well-being during the weeks after the study.
Researchers measured these improvements using questionnaires that asked participants how optimistic, emotionally balanced, and capable they felt in handling life problems.
The volunteers also showed improvements in cognitive flexibility, which refers to the brain’s ability to adapt, shift perspectives, and think in new ways.
Almost every participant described the psychedelic session as one of the most unusual experiences of their lives.
Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, senior author of the study, said the findings support the idea that psychedelic experiences may help reveal hidden emotional patterns and encourage healthier thinking.
According to the researchers, psilocybin may temporarily disrupt rigid patterns of brain activity that are often linked to conditions such as depression and addiction.
By loosening these fixed patterns, the brain may become more open to emotional change and psychological healing.
The findings are especially exciting because many people with severe depression or addiction struggle with repetitive negative thinking patterns that are difficult to break.
Researchers believe psilocybin therapy could potentially help some patients reset those patterns in ways traditional treatments sometimes cannot.
However, scientists strongly caution against using psychedelic substances outside controlled medical settings. Psychedelic experiences can be unpredictable and emotionally intense, especially without professional supervision.
The study also had limitations. The research involved only 28 participants, and all were healthy adults rather than patients with mental illness. More research will be needed to determine how psilocybin affects larger and more diverse populations.
Even so, the study provides important evidence that psychedelic experiences may create both short-term and longer-lasting changes in the brain.
Researchers now hope future clinical trials will help clarify how psilocybin can be safely used in medicine and whether it can become an approved treatment for mental health disorders.
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The findings were published in Nature Communications.
Source: University of California San Francisco.
