One with the world? A new look at brains transformed by psychedelics.
Summary
Scientists studied how the psychedelic drug psilocybin affects the brain by scanning 62 people’s brains before and after taking the drug. They found that instead of causing chaotic brain activity, psilocybin changes how different brain regions connect, increasing imagination and personal meaningfulness of experiences.Key Facts
- Researchers gave 62 people, new to psychedelics, 19 milligrams of psilocybin and scanned their brains.
- Brain scans were done twice: once sober and once under the drug, using MRI and EEG machines.
- The study tested brain activity during four relaxed conditions: resting, meditation, listening to music, and watching clouds.
- Psilocybin made sensory brain areas less dominant while associative areas, responsible for imagination and self, became more active.
- Connections within specialized brain networks weakened, but communication between different networks strengthened.
- This change may explain why people have meaningful, complex, and personal visual experiences on psychedelics.
- The research avoided cognitive tasks during scans to keep the psychedelic experience natural and uninterrupted.
- About half of the participants said their psychedelic experience was among the most meaningful in their lives.
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