How Psychedelics Impact the Brain
Ever wondered how psychedelics impact the brain? This image comes from dozens of brain scans produced by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine who gave psilocybin to participants in a study before sending them into a functional M.R.I. scanner.
Dr. Siegel explains that the scrambled brain activity induced by these substances drives neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new ways of thinking. Dr. Nico Dosenbach shares his surprise at the profound impact of psilocybin, stating that “psilocybin , in contrast to any other drug we’ve tested, has this massive effect on the whole brain that was pretty unexpected.”
A persistent reduction in hippocampal-default mode network connectivity might be the key to the therapeutic and proplasticity effects of psychedelics.
Read more about this study and how the effects of psychedelics on human brain networks is critical to unlocking their therapeutic mechanisms: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07624-5