Study: Psilocybin Induces Month-Long Brain Changes

A new study has revealed that a single high dose of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, induces measurable changes in brain activity and structure that persist for up to a month, potentially explaining its therapeutic promise for mental health conditions.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and Imperial College London conducted the work, published Tuesday in Nature Communications. The placebo-controlled trial involved 28 healthy adults in London, averaging 41 years old, who had never previously used psychedelics. Participants first received a 1-milligram dose of psilocybin, considered a placebo too low to produce psychedelic effects. One month later, they took a 25-milligram dose, standard for therapeutic research.

Using electroencephalography during the experience, functional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging before and after, the team tracked brain function and connectivity. The high dose triggered increased brain entropy, a measure of richer, less predictable neural activity, within an hour. This entropy correlated with greater psychological insight reported the next day, such as new perspectives on personal problems. In turn,...