Psilocybin is a chemical incur in charming mushrooms that causes the user to experience a sensory overburden of pure colors and pattern . late research has found that this consequence happens because thebrain becomes “ hyperconnected”and allows for increased communicating between dissimilar regions . It is hoped that this power can be manipulated so as to manufacture drugs to treat neurologic circumstance . The paper was publish in an open accession data format in theJournal of the Royal Society Interfacewith Giovanni Petri of Italy ’s ISI Foundation serving as lead author .
The chemical works by bind the same receptors in the mind as the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine . This allows the drug to alter modality . While many citizenry have a well-chosen , meaningful experience , some can have a “ big misstep ” and experience extreme paranoiaPrior studieshave feel that that get high on psilocybin does n’t just create a colorful , psychedelic experience for a dyad of hr ; it can stimulate neurological modification that last over a class . These changes resulted in a personality that was more open to the originative arts and became happier , even 14 calendar month after receive the psilocybin .
Though old enquiry surmised that psilocybin diminish learning ability activity , the current sketch used usable magnetised resonance imaging ( fMRI ) to see what was really go on . The written report used 15 participants with prior confident experiences with hallucinogenic drug to avoid a bad trip-up inside the insert machine . Some of the participants received psilocybin , while the other one-half received a saline placebo .
Simplified illustration of the connections tracked while receive the placebo ( a ) and the psilocin ( vitamin B complex ) . Image cite : Petri et al . , 2014 .
Surprisingly , the researchers visualize that upon obtain psilocin , the brain actually re - organised connections and tie in antecedently unconnected regions of the brain . These connections were not random , but look very unionized and static . Once the drug wore off , the connections returned to normal .
“ We can speculate on the implications of such an organization . One possible by - product of this dandy communication across the whole brain is the phenomenon of synesthesia which is often reported in conjunction with the psychedelic state , ” the authorswrote .
Synesthesia is a subconscious pairing of two things , like color and numbers . Someone experiencing this phenomenon might always look at the number 2 as green or study 6 and think of the color purpleness . Because of these strange associations , individuals taking psilocybin likely have poor color percept , despite being inundate with the hallucinogenic colors .
The mechanics of how psilocin is creating these change is not yet bang and will require further study . The investigator believe that in understanding the drug ’s mechanism for temporarily re - wiring the learning ability and vary climate , it could potentially be manipulated into making a functional intervention for depression or other upset . However , there is much more to be learned before it can be used in that style .
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