United States: A scientist claimed that he witnessed his brain ‘fall apart’ after he took psychedelic substances for the new clinical research.
More about the finding
Nico Dosenbach, a researcher at Washington University, was also one of the seven subjects for an experiment that focused on participants’ reactions while under the effects of psilocybin, the main component of magic mushrooms or shrooms.
The neuroscientist said that once the substance kicked in, he felt an increase in his ‘sense of self’ and could have an almost spiritual experience that made him feel like he ‘was the universe.’
This knowledge offered in this study the much-needed insight in regard to how such a form of medication may bring about long-term relief to people diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and other related mental health disorders, as DailyMail reported.
More about the psilocybin effects
Psilocybin affects the hippocampus, a specific area of the brain involved in evaluating thoughts or experiences and explaining oneself.
This works similarly to the other antidepressants, which target the brain and hinder the “negative thought loop, or stuck thinking that can occur with depression,” as said Ginger Nichol, the co-author of the study.
Currently, psilocybin is still restricted in most states in the US, though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted clinical studies to use it as a therapeutical ‘breakthrough therapy’ for serious depression in 2018.
About the research
Some participants were given actual pills, including Dr. Dosenbach, who was in the psilocybin group and was administered 25 milligrams of the drug, while others were given 40 milligrams of the energizing drug referred to as Ritalin used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
As explained by the neuroscientist who participated in the tests, he was not even informed whether he was administered psilocybin or the stimulant.
According to Dr Dosenbach, “Until it kicks in, nobody in the trial knew if they had taken psilocybin or Ritalin, which was picked to be a placebo because it’s also arousing, like drinking a coffee or two,” as CNN Health reported.
‘But then I was like, no, this is not placebo,’ he added, and ‘I was the computer tablet, and my thoughts were like computer thoughts, which, of course, makes no sense, as DailMail reported.
‘I was aware this was not normal, but it wasn’t frightening,’ he continued.
Presumably, images of at least 18 scans of each participant’s brain before, during, and after the trial were made using a heat map of red, orange, and yellow hues displaying the normal change in brain activity.
Knowing that the brain scan results of the psychedelic were looking more favorable to him, Dr Dosenbach said that he felt he was very interested in his reaction.
Therefore, he added, “It’s really fascinating how your brain can fall apart — because how something breaks tells you how something works.”