A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic that acutely causes distortions of space–time perception and ego dissolution, produces rapid and persistent therapeutic effects in human clinical trials. In animal models, psilocybin induces neuroplasticity in cortex and hippocampus. It remains unclear how human brain network changes relate to subjective and lasting effects of psychedelics. Here we tracked individual-specific brain changes with longitudinal precision functional mapping (roughly 18 magnetic resonance imaging visits per participant). Healthy adults were tracked before, during and for 3 weeks after high-dose psilocybin (25 mg) and methylphenidate (40 mg), and brought back for an additional psilocybin dose 6–12 months later. Psilocybin massively disrupted functional connectivity (FC) in cortex and subcortex, acutely causing more than threefold greater change than methylphenidate. These FC changes were driven by brain desynchronization across spatial scales (areal, global), which dissolved network distinctions by reducing correlations within and anticorrelations between networks. Psilocybin-driven FC changes were strongest in the default mode network, which is connected to the anterior hippocampus and is thought to create our sense of space, time and self. Individual differences in FC changes were strongly linked to the subjective psychedelic experience. Performing a perceptual task reduced psilocybin-driven FC changes. Psilocybin caused persistent decrease in FC between the anterior hippocampus and default mode network, lasting for weeks. Persistent reduction of hippocampal-default mode network connectivity may represent a neuroanatomical and mechanistic correlate of the proplasticity and therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
Wow, that sounds like my dream of self improvement!
Shrooms aren’t magic, believe it or not.
There was some serious pain involved in my own recovery and I don’t want to hide that.
The risk of what I did was also significant. If you have some addictions you need to eliminate and a life to rebuild, shrooms could probably help. There are also the bits where you need to see reality dissolve or have your visual cortex basically go into overdrive and basically nope-out for a few hours. Stuff like that tends to happen when you go on a mission to get your brain a bit softer.
The common AA trope is quite real for me: If I drink again, I’ll likely be dead. Heart issues or a bad liver isn’t going to get me, but it will be from absolute stupidity. There were some major changes I needed to make. (I don’t subscribe to most of the AA stuff, btw. It helps some people, but I am too stubborn. It’s got some good bits that are very helpful though.)
I only went into that stuff here just to underscore the seriousness. However, munching on a few grams every now and then probably could result in some positive changes too but you have to be self-aware enough to feel them.