Many studies have suggested that psilocybin, the energetic ingredient in magic mushrooms, could also be useful in treating a disease. Different types of mental health conditions. But we don't really know what's happening at the extent of “functional brain networks”—the communication pathways that connect different areas of the brain.
To get a greater understanding, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis scanned the brains of seven healthy participants multiple times before, during, and after consuming psilocybin. They recently published their findings. The nature.
Each participant within the study had their brains scanned a median of 18 times. The scans (using fMRI, which measures blood flow changes within the brain) revealed that connections inside established brain networks were disrupted, while connections between networks were increased. . In other words, the unpredictability of normal information processing within the brain increases under psilocybin. Psychedelic brain damage.
There's quite a bit to love about this recent study. What makes it particularly novel is the rigor and top quality with which the research was conducted. Anyone who has ever studied fMRI knows how time-consuming and expensive it will probably be to run – adding to the complexity of coping with tripping participants. The study also needs to be commended for the usage of an “active control” (a stimulant drug).
The researchers found that in the times and weeks following a psychedelic experience, lasting brain changes were observed in connections between the hippocampus (a component of the brain related to short-term memory) and the default mode network (a network of brain regions). . energetic when an individual is at rest and never taking note of the external environment). These short-term changes may affect neuroplasticity (brain damage) and the therapeutic effects of psilocybin. Thus, this study matches well with the renewed interest in psychedelic adjuvant therapy for the treatment of hysteria, depression and addiction.
However, since the study involved only healthy volunteers, it's unclear whether these findings apply to patients—those that may profit from psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.
Also, many of the results were based on repeated observations of only six participants (as one participant dropped out of the study). Because no information was provided about these participants' previous experiences with psychedelics, there's a risk of “selection bias,” thus further limiting our ability to generalize these results to a broader population. Gives.
A couple of other issues place further constraints on the inferences that may be drawn. Although the study used an energetic placebo—not only an inactive sugar pill—they didn't provide any details about whether the participants and researchers would have the opportunity to inform whether the experiment had begun. Psilocybin or placebo were administered.
This could be very prone to occur and is a standard problem in psychedelic studies: because of the psychoactive effects of psilocybin, double-blind procedures (where neither the researchers nor the participants know who's on the actual drug and who's on placebo ) does not work. This causes an issue because we all know, on premise Preliminary researchthat mystical-type experiences may also be influenced by placebo effects.
Thus, it's unclear to what extent the observed differences in brain activity are because of the drug alone or are also related to the participants' beliefs and expectations concerning the effects of psilocybin.
Many authors report conflicts of interest. This shouldn't be a red flag per se, but some conflicts of interest are directly related to the commercialization of the neurotechnologies utilized in their studies (corresponding to the usage of precision fMRI for therapeutic purposes). And from the paper, it shouldn't be clear how the chance of potential bias is mitigated.
Deviations from the study protocol are also evident, i.e. its methods, primary objectives and what's reported within the paper. For example, a secondary aim of the study was to measure long-term changes within the health of the participants – Persistent Effects Questionnaire. These results, in the event that they had been reported, may need told us something concerning the clinical relevance of dosing with psilocybin. Unfortunately, though, no data from this questionnaire may very well be present in the paper.
Questions remain.
At first glance, the brain pattern changes seem impressive, nevertheless it's not immediately clear what exactly these fancy brain images involve. What is missing from the image is the info itself. Only such data will help us make clear what changes in neural connectivity represent.
The key questions that remain are: What does it mean for an individual to be more mentally impaired? and the connection between observed changes in brain activity and the way people feel. flourish In their lives?
To answer these questions, we'd like to open the black box of neuroscience, for instance, by adding recent methods that allow us to bridge the gap between “objective” brain data and “subjective” human experience. allow
Only when the strangeness of the subjective psychological experience is brought back into the mental picture will we have the opportunity to inform if it was really price it to scan the hell out of all those participants. Until then, we have to be careful not to put high hopes for frustrated patients based on the compulsion of color images.