Psychedelic substances such as magic mushrooms, mescaline cacti, or magic truffles are all substances that can drastically alter the user’s perception and cognition. As most of you know, this results in a mind-expanding trip often associated with a vivid imagination and a dreamlike state. But how exactly do these substances alter consciousness? That’s what we’re going to tell you today!
Although the psychedelic experience produced by magic mushrooms and magic truffles is generally very well documented, the scientific community is still learning about what these substances do in the brain during such a psychedelic journey. There are now a number of studies that provide us with a clearer picture, and some have yielded quite a few interesting findings.
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Is a psilocybin trip comparable to dreaming?
In one of the most remarkable studies, researchers investigated the effects of the psychoactive substance psilocybin and found increased activity in brain regions known to be activated during dreaming. Interestingly, the opposite can be said for the brain network associated with higher-level thinking and self-awareness, as the activity shown here was muted and disorganized. It was this study that first gave the world a physical picture of the psychedelic experience as we experience it. The study was published in Human Brain Mapping.
To investigate the biological basis of psychedelic trips, researchers at Imperial College London enrolled 15 volunteers in the study and administered either a placebo or psilocybin—the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms and magic truffles. They also imaged the participants’ brains before, during, and after the administration of the drug or the placebo using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
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Strong association with the emotional part of the brain
They discovered that under the influence of psilocybin, brain activity had increased in the primitive network associated with emotion, including the hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex. The hippocampus is associated with learning, memory, and emotion, while the anterior cingulate cortex is associated with states of arousal. Interestingly, this activity closely resembles the brain activity observed during dreaming. Furthermore, they found dulled and desynchronized activity in the networks from which we derive our sense of “self.”
“Learning about the mechanisms underlying what happens under the influence of psychedelic substances can also help us understand their potential uses,” said co-author Dr. Carhart-Harris on this topic. “We are currently studying the effect of LSD on creative thinking, and we will also look into the possibility that psilocybin can alleviate symptoms of depression by allowing patients to change their rigid pessimistic thought patterns.”
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‘More potential brain states’ during a magic mushroom trip
Another interesting finding from this specific study was that the brains of individuals under the influence of psilocybin appeared to exhibit a broader range of activity patterns in the emotional system. This suggests that the participants had more potential brain states at their disposal, which is likely the biological basis for the “expansion” of consciousness so famously associated with psychedelic substances.
Want to read more about what psilocybin does to the brain? Then check out our knowledge base on magic mushrooms and psilocybin!
