Prognosis
Magic Mushrooms Improve Brain Connections to Ease Depression
- Patients reported emotional release and increased optimism
- Study shows psilocybin works faster than conventional pills
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Magic mushrooms connect regions of the brain that are more segregated in people with depression, paving the way to treat the condition differently than with conventional medications.
Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound present in fungi, helped “open up” and improve communication within the brain for up to three weeks, researchers from Imperial College London found. The result was a liberating effect not seen with the traditional antidepressant Lexapro, according to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine.