According to the findings, psilocybin makes the brain more flexible, working differently from regular antidepressants, even weeks after use. The researchers say the findings show that psilocybin could be a viable alternative to treatment for depression. They say that the patterns of brain activity in depression can become rigid and limited, and psilocybin could help the brain escape the quagmire in a way that traditional therapies cannot. Professor David Nutt, head of the Imperial Center for Psychedelic Research, said: “These findings are significant because for the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants, making the brain more flexible and fluid and less grounded in the negative. patterns of thinking related to depression. “This supports our initial predictions and confirms that psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to treating depression.” The paper’s senior author, Professor Robin Carhart-Harris, former head of the Imperial Center, now based at the University of California, San Francisco, said: “The effect of psilocybin is consistent with two human studies. to improve. and was not observed with a conventional antidepressant. “In previous studies we had seen a similar effect on the brain when people were scanned while taking psychedelic, but here we see it weeks after treatment for depression, which suggests a transfer of the acute action of the drug.” Psilocybin is one of the many psychedelics being investigated as a possible treatment for psychiatric disorders. The new findings are based on an analysis of brain scans by about 60 people receiving treatment for depression, led by the Imperial Center. The team believes they may have figured out how psilocybin works in the brain. Individuals who responded to psilocybin therapy showed increased brain connectivity not only during treatment but also up to three weeks later. This opening effect was associated with individuals who reported improvements in their depression. According to the researchers, similar changes in brain connectivity were not observed in those treated with a conventional antidepressant, escitalopram, suggesting that psychedelic function works differently in the treatment of depression. The team says the findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are a promising breakthrough for psilocybin treatment, with the results replicated in two studies. However, the authors warn that while the findings are encouraging, patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin, as taking magic mushrooms or psilocybin in the absence of test conditions may not have a positive effect.
