Researchers have long suspected that the altered perception, kaleidoscopic visions and mood changes produced by psych­edelic drugs reflect a jump in brain activity. Not so, say neuroscientists at Imperial College London and elsewhere. They used functional MRI to peek at the brains of 30 participants experiencing a “trip” induced by intravenously delivered psilocybin, a psychedelic found in magic mushrooms. As they reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA online in January, investigators saw psilocybin-related dips in brain activity, particularly in control centers such as the thalamus, the anterior and posterior cingulate cortices, and the medial prefrontal cortex. The more placid these regions appeared in a participant’s brain, the more intense the subject’s self-reported psychedelic experiences. The scientists conclude that psychedelics temporarily flip off cognition-constraining pathways—including some that are overactive during depression. [For more on this study, click here.]

This article was published in print as "Free Your Mind."

8 Comments

1. 1. promytius 09:23 AM 5/1/12

   So we can now purchase liquid psilocybin? Did CVS sponsor this study? And the point of this study is helpful how?

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2. 2. sillofthedoor 10:07 AM 5/1/12

   "...psychedelics temporarily flip off cognition-constraining pathways..."
   
   So we are more cognitive, not less when tripping (and when our brain is turned down!)?
   
   OK, that matches my personal experiences.

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3. 3. dwjavu_2dawn 01:41 PM 5/1/12

   go ask Alice -- when shes 10 feet tall.....

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4. 4. tomtomclub in reply to promytius 05:02 PM 5/1/12

   one example mentioned in the article is that it can lead to insights into the treatment of depression.

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5. 5. jgrosay 07:20 PM 5/1/12

   I've always had the hunch that Cannabis, another hallucinogenic or psychedelic drug, may act as a CNS depressant, but with selective actions on different structures of brain depending on how old are these structures in the phylogeny. Very old structures, the ones involved in regulation of body functions, such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure, and the regions we call "reptilian brain" would be quite resistant to the effects of Cannabis active products, our animal ancestors having had the selective pressure of eating plants producing these substances, those more resistant to the effects of these natural drugs having an evolutive advantage, while the more complex structures of the brain cortex, specially those involved in association of input from senses and memories, and controlling behavior, the behavior-controlling frontal parts of brain are ripe enough to fully exert it task only around 24 years of age, these recent brain structures, recent from the point of view of its appearance in evolution, would be exquisitely sensible to the depressing effects of cannabinoids and other compounds, and thus the highly complex functions they regulate will be much more affected by pot than the very old and simpler animal ones. Salut +

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6. 6. jtdwyer in reply to sillofthedoor 07:37 AM 5/2/12

   Yes, but more like drinking water from a fire hydrant!

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7. 7. Rev.Corvette in reply to jtdwyer 06:14 PM 5/2/12

   Would the analogous fire hydrant valve be wide open, Or dialed back with liquid psilocybin?
   

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8. 8. most.fungi in reply to promytius 03:44 AM 5/9/12

   There are implications for treatment of depression - chronic sufferers of depression may benefit from the experience of breaking the surface, getting their heads above water, even briefly. The experiences and memories can have lasting effects, even after "cognition-constraining pathways" are all fully back online.

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