Scientists Separate Psilocybin’s Brain-Rewiring Power From Its Hallucinations

Scientists Separate Psilocybin’s Brain-Rewiring Power From Its Hallucinations

Mouse experiments suggest psilocybin’s ability to rebuild brain connections may be separable from its psychedelic effects, opening new possibilities for non-hallucinogenic psychiatric medications. Chronic stress can strip away connections between brain cells, disrupting the circuits they form. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, found that psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms,” reshapes [...]

Psilocybin Rewired Mouse Brains Through One Cell Type, and the Hallucinations Came From Somewhere Else

UC Santa Cruz researchers traced psilocybin's synapse remodelling in mice to one receptor in Layer 5 neurons, separate from the circuit producing the hallucination-like behaviour.