Nature has not finished surprising us. The psychedelic properties of certain mushrooms could cure people suffering from chronic depression.
Researchers have managed to observe the impact on the brain of psilocybin, the active principle of hallucinogenic mushrooms, between Alice in Wonderland and reality, there is now only a step. To highlight these effects, researchers from Imperial College London followed 20 patients with depression whose symptoms were resistant to traditional treatments. They received two doses of psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg), a week apart and had an MRI before and after to see the impact on their brain.
The patients all reported a decrease in depressive symptoms after treatment. These effects – such as improving mood and relieving stress – lasted for up to 5 weeks after treatment.
Importantly, MRI scans have revealed reduced blood flow to different areas of the brain, especially the amygdala, which is known to be involved in emotional reactions, stress, and fear.
“Reinitialized” patients
“For the first time, we have shown clear changes in brain activity in patients treated with psilocybin […] “, declared to Guardian Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, head of the Psychedelic Research group at Imperial College and who led this study. “Several of our patients described feeling ‘restarted’ after treatment and often used computer analogies. For example, one of them expressed the impression that his brain had been ‘defragmented’ like a hard drive, and another ‘reset’.
This study would therefore tend to show that psilocybin could play the role of “temporary boost” to get out of their depressive states patients resistant to all current treatments.
Last year, two American studies had already shown that a single dose of psilocybin could relieve anxiety and depression in people with advanced cancer for six months, or even longer.
No self-medication
The Imperial College researchers nevertheless recognize that the results are only initial due to the low number of patients and the absence of a control group.
They also point out that it would be dangerous for patients with depression to try to self-medicate with hallucinogenic mushrooms. These products can be very powerful and lead to “bad trips”, that is, phases of intense anxiety. No need therefore to want to go to Amsterdam or another destination where their consumption is possible.
And let’s not forget that in France, hallucinogenic mushrooms have been on the list of narcotics since 1990. Thus, possession, use, possession, transport and collection are liable to criminal penalties.
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