New breakthrough study. It’s always nice to hear that phrase in conjunction with the world of psychedelics. Since the 1960’s and the beginnings of the War on Drugs, us psychonauts were hungrily awaiting new information on these mind-bending compounds.
The global push to the legalization of cannabis has certainly softened the stigmas surrounding psychedelics. So much research has been done in the past five years alone. Money is pouring in to psychedelic start-ups and research centres. We couldn’t be happier to see this trajectory toward acceptance.
What’s the scoop?
We have been suspecting this for a long time now. It’s great (and validating) to finally see it happen. A group of scientists at Yale University confirms in this new breakthrough study the first direct cellular demonstration of single psilocybin dose inducing neural plasticity in the mammalian brain. The research illustrates that psilocybin spurs fast growth of neural pathways in the frontal cortex of mice. This leads them to suggest positive results of using psilocybin as an antidepressant.
Summary
One dose of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms, increases dendritic spine density within 24 hours. The neurobiological changes lasted for a month following psilocybin exposure. Additionally, mice subjected to stress showed behavioural improvements and increased neurotransmitter activity after psilocybin exposure.
Source: Yale
Here is the link to the original article, as well as the source.
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