More Than Serotonin: How Psychedelics Engage the Whole Brain

Summary: Classical psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline are known for activating the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, but a new study reveals their effects go far beyond. Researchers profiled 41 psychedelics…

Psilocybin Shows Promise as Anti-Aging Therapy

Summary: Psilocybin, the active compound derived from psychedelic mushrooms, significantly delayed cellular aging and extended lifespan in a preclinical study. Researchers observed a 50% increase in the lifespan of human…

More People Turning to Psilocybin for Self-Treatment

Summary: Psilocybin use in the U.S. has risen sharply across all age groups since 2019, coinciding with increasing legalization and interest in its therapeutic potential. A new study reveals a…

How Psilocybin Lifts Mood Without the Hallucinogenic Trip

Summary: Researchers have uncovered two key brain mechanisms—specific neurons and a serotonin receptor—that help explain how psilocybin produces long-lasting antidepressant effects. Their study identified pyramidal tract neurons in the medial…

Optimism Boosted by Psilocybin, Hinting at Depression Relief

Summary: Researchers have discovered that psilocybin, a psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, increases optimism and motivation in rats, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits for treating depression. Using computational modeling, scientists observed…

High-Dose Psilocybin Shows Potential as an Antidepressant Treatment

Summary: A meta-analysis suggests that high doses of psilocybin may alleviate depressive symptoms similarly to the SSRI drug escitalopram. While the effect size was small, psilocybin outperformed placebo in clinical…

Psilocybin legislation is helping psychedelic drugs make a comeback – a drug researcher explains the challenges they face

An operations manager finds relief from her depression with the help of psilocybin, the primary psychoactive component of “magic mushrooms.” A veteran conquers his post-traumatic stress disorder through therapy using…

Mind-Bending: Psilocybin Reshapes Brain Networks for Weeks

Summary: A new study reveals that psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, temporarily disrupts brain networks involved in introspective thinking, like daydreaming and memory. These changes persist for weeks,…

Calls to US poison centers spiked after ‘magic mushrooms’ were decriminalized

Calls to poison control centers spiked across the U.S. for adolescents and young adults exposed to the hallucinogen psilocybin, according to our analysis of data from 55 U.S. poison centers…

How cannabis and psilocybin might help some of the 50 million Americans who are experiencing chronic pain

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency announced in late April 2024 that it plans to ease federal restrictions on cannabis, reclassifying it from a Schedule I drug to the less restricted…