Showing posts with label magic mushrooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magic mushrooms. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2026
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Single dose of magic mushroom psychedelic can cause anatomical brain changes, study finds
Your competent? doctor already has prescribed various unorthodox drugs, right?
DMT (8 posts to November 2020)
ecstasy (19 posts to November 2012)
LSD (5 posts to September 2018)
CerAxon (5 posts to January 2012)
citicoline (15 posts to October 2011)
magic mushrooms (10 posts to October 2014)
psilocybin (14 posts to May 2014)
Single dose of magic mushroom psychedelic can cause anatomical brain changes, study finds
Participants took 25mg of psilocybin, reporting deeper psychological insight and better wellbeing a month later
Scientists spotted apparent changes in the brain’s structure which were still apparent a month after healthy volunteers took the drug. If confirmed, they may help explain the therapeutic effects that psychedelics can have on anxiety, depression and addiction, researchers said.
Evidence for the changes came from specialised scans that measured the diffusion of water along nerve bundles in the brain. They suggested that some nerve tracts had become denser and more robust after the drug was taken. While the findings are preliminary, the scientists said the opposite was seen in ageing and dementia.
“It’s remarkable to see potential anatomical brain changes one month after a single dose of any drug,” said Prof Robin Carhart-Harris, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and senior author on the study. “We don’t yet know what these changes mean, but we do note that overall, people showed positive psychological changes in this study, including improved wellbeing and mental flexibility.”
Scientists have long sought to understand how psychedelics affect the brain and the work has gained fresh impetus in the wake of trials and studies that suggest the compounds could be used to treat a range of mental health disorders. The drugs are thought to help by boosting flexible thinking and allowing people to escape destructive cognitive ruts.In the latest study, Carhart-Harris and colleagues at Imperial College London explored the “entropic brain effect”, in which neural activity becomes more varied on psychedelics; the impact of the drug on people’s wellbeing alongside any functional or anatomical changes in the brain.
To start, 28 healthy volunteers who had never taken a psychedelic were given 1mg of psilocybin, a small enough dose to be considered a placebo. The scientists then used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure their brain activity via electrodes on the scalp.
The volunteers completed a raft of tests over the next few weeks to measure their wellbeing, depth of psychological insight and the flexibility of their thinking. Meanwhile, functional MRI scans and a technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) monitored their brains.
A month after the placebo, participants took a single 25mg dose of psilocybin, enough to elicit a powerful psychedelic experience. During the trip and for weeks after, the scientists ran the same tests and brain monitoring to see what happened.
Within an hour of taking the drug, EEG revealed a surge in brain entropy, suggesting the brain was processing a greater diversity of information. A month later, DTI scans revealed a drop in diffusion along nerve tracts running from the front to the middle of the brain. That could be caused by pruning of some nerve fibres, or the growth of nerves that are not yet covered with insulating sheaths, though more work is needed to confirm the finding.
Writing in Nature Communications, the researchers describe another key finding. Those who had the largest spike in brain entropy after psilocybin were most likely to report deeper psychological insight and better wellbeing a month later, underlining the link between flexible thinking and improved mental health. “It suggests a psychobiological therapeutic action for psilocybin,” said Carhart-Harris.
Prof Alex Kwan, a neuroscientist at Cornell University in New York, said studies in mice had shown that psychedelics can rewire connections between nerves, a form of “plasticity” that could underlie their therapeutic effects. The big question is whether the same occurs in humans. “This study comes closer than most to addressing that question, by giving evidence of lasting changes in brain structure after psychedelic use,” he said. But while the results were “exciting”, the study involved a small number of people and DTI provides an indirect and limited view of brain connections, he said.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Psychedelics Remodel Myelin to Heal PTSD
Your competent? doctor is already prescribing psychedelics, right?
DMT (8 posts to November 2020)
ecstasy (19 posts to November 2012)
LSD (5 posts to September 2018)
CerAxon (5 posts to January 2012)
citicoline (15 posts to October 2011)
magic mushrooms (10 posts to October 2014)
psilocybin (14 posts to May 2014)
And knows of the need for myelin repair post stroke!
And knows all about preventing and fixing your PTSD!
Since there is a 23% chance of stroke survivors getting PTSD what is your doctor's treatment plan?
OH NO, your doctor is incompetent in all points! What will you do to correct that problem?
Psychedelics Remodel Myelin to Heal PTSD
Summary: For years, scientists have focused on how psychedelics “rewire” neurons. But a groundbreaking study has found a “missing link” in long-term PTSD recovery: myelin remodeling. Researchers discovered that psilocybin and MDMA do more than just alter brain activity; they trigger the physical repair of myelin—the insulating layer that protects nerve fibers and synchronizes brain signals.
By “re-insulating” the circuits that have been frayed by trauma, these drugs help harmonize the rhythm of brain networks, turning a temporary “psychedelic window” into a permanent structural recovery.
Key Facts
- The “Missing Link”: While psychedelics provide rapid relief, long-term stability requires circuit-level repair. This study identifies adaptive myelination as the key to sustaining those benefits.
- Brain Synchronization: Myelin acts as the brain’s insulation. Remodeling this layer allows disrupted brain circuits (common in PTSD) to synchronize and harmonize their electrical rhythms again.
- Mechanistic Proof: Researchers used a rat model to show that blocking myelin repair prevented the long-term anti-anxiety effects of psilocybin and MDMA, proving that structural repair is necessary for recovery.
- Oligodendrocytes Matter: The study shifts the focus from neurons to oligodendrocytes—the cells that produce myelin—as the “gatekeepers” of long-lasting psychedelic healing.
- Anti-Inflammatory Effects: In addition to repairing insulation, both drugs were found to reduce astrocyte reactivity, lowering brain inflammation associated with chronic stress.
Source: Elsevier
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not only characterized by strongly encoded traumatic memories, but also by disrupted coordination across brain networks.
New research shows that treatment with psychedelic drugs triggers a large-scale reconfiguration of brain network dynamics driven by the remodeling of myelin—the neuronal insulation layer.
The findings from the novel study in Biological Psychiatry show enhancing myelination might be a viable strategy to augment or sustain the therapeutic effects of psychedelic-assisted treatments for PTSD and related disorders.
Psilocybin and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produce rapid clinical effects in patients with PTSD. However, durable benefits require circuit-level stabilization.
As the underlying cellular mechanisms remain incompletely understood, the current study identifies myelin as the missing link bridging the short-lived psychedelic experience and longer-term maintenance of healthier neural network dynamics.
The study shows that activity-dependent oligodendrogenesis and myelin remodeling can tune the disrupted timing and persistent response to threat observed in PTSD by synchronizing and harmonizing the rhythm of brain circuits.
John Krystal, MD, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, explains, “The focus of psychedelic and MDMA research has been the effects of these drugs on neurons and neuroplasticity. This work has largely ignored a potentially important role for other cell types in the neurobiology of their therapeutic effects.
“Oligodendrocytes play a number of roles in the brain, which produce the myelin that insulates neurons. Subgroups of oligodendrocytes take up glutamate and contribute to glutamate homeostasis, protecting the brain from neurotoxicity. Another group of oligodendrocytes is involved in immune and inflammatory functions in the brain.”
Researchers used a rat model of contextual fear conditioning and administered repeated low doses of psilocybin or MDMA. They then quantified anxiety-like and exploration behaviors and assessed spatial learning and memory.
The results showed that anxiety-like behaviors were reduced—a shift accompanied by changes in oligodendrocyte biology and multi-omic (genetic) signatures towards myelin remodeling in the dentate gyrus (part of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center).
“To test whether myelin integrity was simply associated with behavioral change—or actually required for it—we combined the drug interventions with models that either damaged brain insulation (demyelination) or chemically enhanced it (promyelination) to see how these changes affected recovery,” explains lead investigator Mehmet Bostancıklıoğlu, PhD, Department of Physiology, Gaziantep University Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey.
Using high-powered microscopy and genetic analysis, the researchers confirmed both psilocybin and MDMA trigger physical myelin repair. Furthermore, a serotonin receptor 5-HT2A blockade prevented both the behavioral and myelin-associated effects.
When the team used a different drug (anisomycin) to block the formation of fear memories, anxiety decreased, but the myelin remained unrepaired. This suggests that while memories can be suppressed, biological recovery requires the structural support of myelin.
“Taken together, this moves oligodendrocytes and adaptive myelination from ‘background correlates’ to a mechanistically testable gate on the durability of psychedelic-associated circuit change,” notes Dr. Bostancıklıoğlu.
“The implication of oligodendrocytes in the therapeutic effects of psychedelics and MDMA is important because of their many functions in the brain, including myelin formation, glutamate homeostasis, and neuroinflammation. The dependency of the therapeutic effects of these drugs in animals may suggest that myelin compromise may undermine their efficacy,” adds Dr. Krystal.
“Overall, these data suggest that psychedelics and MDMA, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and ketamine, may promote the recovery from stress-related damage to myelin, contributing to clinical recovery.”
The study also found that psilocybin and MDMA reduce astrocyte reactivity that can cause inflammation.
The investigators point out that enhancing myelination would not be expected to replace psychotherapy; rather, it could support consolidation and maintenance of healthier network communication after the acute psychedelic session, when the brain is transitioning from destabilization back towards reintegration.
Dr. Bostancıklıoğlu concludes, “We often talk about psychedelics as ‘opening a window’ for brain plasticity. Recent work emphasizes that these drugs can acutely loosen entrenched network patterns and then leave a sub-acute period in which experience can reshape circuits.
“What we show here is that myelin-producing cells may be an underappreciated part of that story—helping translate a transient window into longer-lasting circuit change, at least in a fear-based rat model.”
Key Questions Answered:
Q: Do psychedelics just “mask” traumatic memories?
A: No—this study shows they actually help fix the wiring. Trauma “frays” the insulation (myelin) of your brain’s communication lines, leading to static and mistimed signals. Psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA trigger the brain to physically re-wrap those wires, allowing for clearer, calmer communication.
Q: Why is “neural insulation” so important for PTSD?
A: In PTSD, the brain’s fear circuits are often “over-active” and poorly timed. Myelin ensures that signals travel at the right speed. By repairing this insulation, the brain can better synchronize its networks, helping to “turn down the volume” on persistent threat responses.
Q: Does this mean I can just take psilocybin and be cured?
A: Not quite. The researchers emphasize that these drugs “open a window” of plasticity. The physical repair of myelin provides the structural support needed for that window to stay open, but it works best alongside therapy to reintegrate those healthier network patterns.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this PTSD and psychedelics research news
Author: Eileen Leahy
Source: Elsevier
Contact: Eileen Leahy – Elsevier
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“MDMA and Psilocybin Regulate Oligodendrocyte-Lineage Cell Numbers and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in a Rat Model of Fear” by Mehmet Bostancıklıoğlu, Davut Sinan Kaplan, Ramazan Bal, Elif Yiğit, Hasan Ulusal, and Ebru Temiz. Biological Psychiatry
DOI:10.1016/j.biopsych.2026.01.016
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Psychedelics and the Extracellular Matrix: Rewiring Neuroplasticity and Metaplasticity for Next-Generation Psychiatric Therapies
Oh, your incompetent? doctor didn't put together protocols on psychedelics years ago? And your incompetent board of directors hasn't fired them yet?
What about all these drugs for stroke recovery? Doesn't your doctor read the literature AND create protocols from that research? NO? SO TOTALLY INCOMPETENT THEN?
DMT (8 posts to November 2020)
ecstasy (19 posts to November 2012)
LSD (5 posts to September 2018)
CerAxon (5 posts to January 2012)
citicoline (15 posts to October 2011)
magic mushrooms (10 posts to October 2014)
psilocybin (14 posts to May 2014)
Psychedelics and the Extracellular Matrix: Rewiring Neuroplasticity and Metaplasticity for Next-Generation Psychiatric Therapies
Affiliations & Notes
Article Info
Publication History:
Received August 11, 2025; Revised January 24, 2026; Accepted February 19, 2026; Published online February 27, 2026
DOI:
Abstract
Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) have emerged as potent modulators of neuroplasticity and metaplasticity in the adult brain, offering novel therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent findings reveal that beyond their transient psychotropic effects, these compounds activate serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and downstream signaling cascades—including CaMKII, ERK, mTOR, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pathways—thereby inducing synaptogenesis, dendritic spine remodeling, and transcription of immediate early genes. Critically, the brain's extracellular matrix (ECM), particularly perineuronal nets (PNNs), has been identified as a central regulator of synaptic stability and a key target of psychedelic action. Psychedelics transiently disrupt ECM integrity by loosening PNNs and reorganizing pericellular scaffolds, a process that reopens developmentally restricted critical periods of plasticity and restores circuit-level flexibility. These ECM-mediated metaplastic effects appear essential to the sustained therapeutic outcomes observed in clinical studies of psychedelic-assisted therapy for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and potentially neurodegenerative diseases. This manuscript synthesizes current cellular, molecular, and translational evidence highlighting the ECM as a dynamic and permissive substrate through which classic psychedelics exert long-lasting structural and functional brain changes, underscoring its potential as a target for precision interventions in neuropsychiatric care.Abstract
Classic psychedelics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) have emerged as potent modulators of neuroplasticity and metaplasticity in the adult brain, offering novel therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent findings reveal that beyond their transient psychotropic effects, these compounds activate serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and downstream signaling cascades—including CaMKII, ERK, mTOR, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) pathways—thereby inducing synaptogenesis, dendritic spine remodeling, and transcription of immediate early genes. Critically, the brain's extracellular matrix (ECM), particularly perineuronal nets (PNNs), has been identified as a central regulator of synaptic stability and a key target of psychedelic action. Psychedelics transiently disrupt ECM integrity by loosening PNNs and reorganizing pericellular scaffolds, a process that reopens developmentally restricted critical periods of plasticity and restores circuit-level flexibility. These ECM-mediated metaplastic effects appear essential to the sustained therapeutic outcomes observed in clinical studies of psychedelic-assisted therapy for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, and potentially neurodegenerative diseases. This manuscript synthesizes current cellular, molecular, and translational evidence highlighting the ECM as a dynamic and permissive substrate through which classic psychedelics exert long-lasting structural and functional brain changes, underscoring its potential as a target for precision interventions in neuropsychiatric care.
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Psilocybin-Induced Neuroplasticity and Sustained Antidepressant Effects.
Well, hasn't your competent? doctor already prescribed various types of psychedelics to get you recovered?
What about all these drugs for stroke recovery? Doesn't your doctor read the literature AND create protocols from that research? NO? SO TOTALLY INCOMPETENT THEN?
DMT (8 posts to November 2020)
ecstasy (19 posts to November 2012)
LSD (5 posts to September 2018)
CerAxon (5 posts to January 2012)
citicoline (15 posts to October 2011)
magic mushrooms (10 posts to October 2014)
psilocybin (14 posts to May 2014)
My 13 reasons for marijuana use post-stroke.
Don't follow me, I'm not medically trained, and I don't have a Dr. in front of my name.
The latest here:
Psilocybin-Induced Neuroplasticity and Sustained Antidepressant Effects.
Author: Anna Komarczewska, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7378-2607
E-mail: lek.komarczewska@wp.pl
Rydygier Provincial Integrated Hospital in Toruń, Toruń, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland
Filip Matusiak, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0538-6443
E-mail: f.matusiak98@gmail.com
Jan Biziel University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, PL
Klaudia Brzoza, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0950-4514
E-mail: klaudiabrzoza99@gmail.com
Jan Biziel University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, PL
Michał Kociński, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7651-7929
E-mail: michal.kocinski1999@gmail.com
Jan Biziel University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, PL
Patryk Iglewski, ORCID:https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6611-2168ttps://o
E-mail: patryk.iglewski01@gmail.com
Rydygier Provincial Integrated Hospital in Toruń, Toruń, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland
Michał Pietrasz, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8148-7487
E-mail: michal.pietrasz252@gmail.com
Rydygier Provincial Integrated Hospital in Toruń, Toruń, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland
Corresponding Author:
Anna Komarczewska lek.komarczewska@wp.pl
Abstract
Psilocybin-assisted interventions have shown rapid reductions in depressive symptoms in
controlled clinical settings, raising questions about biological mechanisms supporting
durability beyond the acute drug effect. [5,7] Mechanistic accounts increasingly focus on
neuroplasticity as a candidate pathway linking transient serotonergic receptor activation to
longer-lasting psychological and clinical change. [2,6] To synthesize evidence from the
2
publications regarding (1) antidepressant clinical outcomes after psilocybin-assisted
interventions and (2) neuroplasticity-related biological findings that plausibly support sustained
improvement. [2,3] Narrative review using only (clinical trials/secondary analyses and
mechanistic animal/neuroimaging work). Evidence was summarized qualitatively; no meta
analysis was performed. [2,16] Randomized and open-label clinical studies report rapid
symptom reduction and follow-up persistence in major depression and cancer-related
depression/anxiety, including six-month outcomes in treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
protocols with psychological support. [4,5,7,19] Preclinical work provides convergent evidence
of plasticity-relevant change after psilocybin, including structural synaptic remodeling in
frontal cortex and hippocampal plasticity-related outcomes in extinction learning paradigms.
[3,8] Human neuroimaging work reports changes consistent with altered large-scale brain
dynamics after psilocybin and TRD-related mechanistic findings on fMRI. [6,20] Across the
uploaded dataset, psilocybin-assisted therapy is associated with rapid antidepressant effects and
durability signals in selected samples, while convergent animal and human mechanistic
findings support neuroplasticity as a biologically plausible contributor to sustained clinical
improvement. [2,3]
Friday, October 10, 2025
Mushrooms for the brain: A review of the neuroprotective effects of mushroom bioactive compounds
Well, hasn't your competent? doctor already prescribed various types of psychedelics to get you recovered?
What about all these drugs for stroke recovery? Doesn't your doctor read the literature AND create protocols from that research? NO? SO TOTALLY INCOMPETENT THEN?
DMT (8 posts to November 2020)
ecstasy (19 posts to November 2012)
LSD (5 posts to September 2018)
CerAxon (5 posts to January 2012)
citicoline (15 posts to October 2011)
magic mushrooms (10 posts to October 2014)
psilocybin (14 posts to May 2014)
My 13 reasons for marijuana use post-stroke.
Don't follow me, I'm not medically trained, and I don't have a Dr. in front of my name.
The latest here:
Mushrooms for the brain: A review of the neuroprotective effects of mushroom bioactive compounds
Abstract
Neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases pose significant challenges to individuals’ well-being and healthcare systems. These conditions share common mechanisms like oxidative stress, protein aggregation, inflammation, impaired neurotransmission, mitochondrial dysfunction, and excitotoxicity. Current treatments offer limited efficacy and often come with adverse effects. Mushrooms, recognized as a valuable cultural and nutritional resource, hold therapeutic potential. As a future superfood, they contribute to overall health and well-being. Various mushroom groups have been studied for their bioactive compounds, including polysaccharides, protein complexes, peptides, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, demonstrating efficacy in different neurodegenerative conditions. Notably, edible mushrooms have shown promise in mitigating beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity. This review explores the utilization of mushroom biomolecules in treating neurodegenerative diseases, offering novel research insights with preclinical and clinical trials in both rat model and humans paving the way for the development and utilization of mushroom bioactive compounds as neuroprotective agents.
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