The discovery points toward a mechanism through which psilocybin acts therapeutically on the brain to treat individuals who experience mental health issues, marked by fixed patterns of thinking.Scientists analyzed fMRI brain scans from 60 people who participated in two psilocybin trials.In addition to the drugs, all the participants received the same type of psychotherapy.Scans done before and after treatment, showed the psilocybin treatment notably reduced connections within the brain areas that are tightly connected in depression and various mental health issues experienced today

Psilocybin And The Brain.

Participants were less emotionally avoidant and their cognitive functioning improved. The improvement in their depressive symptoms correlated with changes in the brain. These changes lasted until the study ended three weeks after the second psilocybin dose. No such changes were seen in the brains of those who received escitalopram, suggesting that psilocybin acts differently on the brain than SSRIs.“For the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants. The brain showed more flexibility, fluidity and less entrenched in negative thinking patterns."

Results Obtained Post Psilocybin Treatment.

Study Suggests New Mechanism for How Psychedelics Affect the BrainPsilocybin fosters greater connections between different regions of the brain in depressed people, freeing them up from long-held patterns of rumination and excessive self-focus, according to a new study by scientists at UC San Francisco and Imperial College London.The discovery points toward a general mechanism through which psychedelics may be acting therapeutically on the brain to alleviate depression and possibly other psychiatric conditions that are marked by fixed patterns of thinking.Depression<figure><picture><img src="https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2022-04/depression_0.jpg" width="184" height="129" alt="A graphic rendering of a brain’s landscape that measures connections between areas of the brain that affect thought patterns. In this rendering of a brain with depression, high peaks are in yellow, with deeper spaces in purple."></picture><figcaption dir="auto">The depressed brain encourages rigid thought patterns that impact well-being. This can be viewed as a “landscape” with deep wells that make it difficult for patients to “move between” different thoughts and perspectives. Image by Richard Daws, Kings College London</figcaption></figure>Psilocybin<figure><picture><img src="https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2022-04/psilocybin.jpg" width="184" height="129" alt="A graphic rendering of a brain’s landscape that measures connections between areas of the brain that affect thought patterns. In this rendering, the landscape is flatter after psilocybin therapy. Higher peaks are in yellow, with deeper spaces in purple."></picture><figcaption dir="auto">Psilocybin therapy “flattens” the brain’s landscape and “opens up” the rigidity of the depressed to allow new thoughts, insight, and perspectives to emerge. Image by Richard Daws, Kings College London</figcaption></figure>Post-treatment<figure><picture><img src="https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/2022-04/post-treatment_0.jpg" width="184" height="129" alt="A graphic rendering of a brain’s landscape that measures connections between areas of the brain that affect thought patterns. Higher peaks are in yellow, with deeper spaces in purple. In this rendering, there are few higher yellow peaks at the edge, and a more even purple area in the center."></picture><figcaption dir="auto">Post-treatment, a flatter landscape makes it easier for patients to experience healthier flexibility and diversity in their thought patterns. Image by Richard Daws, Kings College London</figcaption></figure>Scientists analyzed fMRI brain scans from nearly 60 people who had participated in two psilocybin trials. In the first one, all the participants had treatment-resistant depression and knew they were being given psilocybin. In the second one, the participants were depressed but not as severely, and they were not told whether they had been given psilocybin or a placebo that turned out to be escitalopram, an SSRI antidepressant. In addition to the drugs, all the participants received the same type of psychotherapy.The scans, which were done before and after treatment, showed the psilocybin treatment reduced connections within brain areas that are tightly connected in depression, including the default mode, salience, and executive networks, and increased connections to other regions of the brain that had not been well integrated.Participants were also less emotionally avoidant and their cognitive functioning got better. The improvement in their depressive symptoms correlated with changes to their brains, and these changes lasted until the study ended three weeks after the second psilocybin dose. No such changes were seen in the brains of those who received escitalopram, suggesting that psilocybin acts differently on the brain than SSRIs.<figure><picture><img src="https://www.ucsf.edu/sites/default/files/styles/half__image/public/2022-04/robin-carhart-harris.png" width="306" height="204" alt="Robert Carhart-Harris standing for a photo"></picture><figcaption dir="ltr">“We don’t yet know how long the changes in brain activity seen with psilocybin therapy last, and we need to do more research to understand this,” says <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/profile/robin-carhart-harris/" dir="ltr">Robin Carhart-Harris</a>, PhD, director of the Psychedelics Division at <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/" dir="ltr">Neuroscape</a>. Image by Thomas Angus, Imperial College London</figcaption></figure>Psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics like ayahuasca affect 5-HT2A receptors, which are plentiful in brain networks that become overactive in depression. One hypothesis is that the drugs briefly disrupt these connections, giving them a chance to reform in new ways in the ensuing days and weeks.“In previous studies we had seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned whilst on a psychedelic, but here we’re seeing it weeks after treatment for depression, which suggests a carry-over of the acute drug action,” said <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/profile/robin-carhart-harris/" dir="ltr">Robin Carhart-Harris</a>, PhD, who directs the <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/" dir="ltr">Neuroscape</a> Psychedelics Division at UCSF and is the senior author of the study, which appears April 11, 2022, in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01744-z" dir="ltr">Nature Medicine</a>.“We don’t yet know how long the changes in brain activity seen with psilocybin therapy last, and we need to do more research to understand this,” said Carhart-Harris, who is the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Sciences and a member of the <a href="https://weill.ucsf.edu/" dir="ltr">UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences</a>. “We do know that some people relapse, and it may be that after a while their brains revert to the rigid patterns of activity we see in depression.”The authors caution that while these findings are encouraging, patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin. The trials took place under controlled, clinical conditions, using a regulated dose formulated in a laboratory, and involved extensive psychological support before, during, and after dosing.But the study points to a mechanism that, if it holds up, may explain both how psilocybin helps to alleviate depression and potentially other debilitating psychiatric conditions.“For the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants – making the brain more flexible and fluid, and less entrenched in the negative thinking patterns associated with depression,” said David Nutt, DM, head of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. “This supports our initial predictions and confirms psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to depression treatments.”Disclosures, as well as the full list of authors and funding are available in the paper.

Scientists at UC San Francisco and Imperial College London found that psilocybin fosters greater connections between different regions of the brain in depressed people, freeing them up from long-held patterns of rumination and excessive self-focus.

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

health

Health

problemsolving

Problem Solving

meditation

Meditation

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Study Suggests New Mechanism for How Psychedelics Affect the Brain

Psilocybin fosters greater connections between different regions of the brain in depressed people, freeing them up from long-held patterns of rumination and excessive self-focus, according to a new study by scientists at UC San Francisco and Imperial College London.

The discovery points toward a general mechanism through which psychedelics may be acting therapeutically on the brain to alleviate depression and possibly other psychiatric conditions that are marked by fixed patterns of thinking.

Scientists analyzed fMRI brain scans from nearly 60 people who had participated in two psilocybin trials. In the first one, all the participants had treatment-resistant depression and knew they were being given psilocybin. In the second one, the participants were depressed but not as severely, and they were not told whether they had been given psilocybin or a placebo that turned out to be escitalopram, an SSRI antidepressant. In addition to the drugs, all the participants received the same type of psychotherapy.

The scans, which were done before and after treatment, showed the psilocybin treatment reduced connections within brain areas that are tightly connected in depression, including the default mode, salience, and executive networks, and increased connections to other regions of the brain that had not been well integrated.

Participants were also less emotionally avoidant and their cognitive functioning got better. The improvement in their depressive symptoms correlated with changes to their brains, and these changes lasted until the study ended three weeks after the second psilocybin dose. No such changes were seen in the brains of those who received escitalopram, suggesting that psilocybin acts differently on the brain than SSRIs.

Image by Thomas Angus, Imperial College London

Psilocybin and other serotonergic psychedelics like ayahuasca affect 5-HT2A receptors, which are plentiful in brain networks that become overactive in depression. One hypothesis is that the drugs briefly disrupt these connections, giving them a chance to reform in new ways in the ensuing days and weeks.

“In previous studies we had seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned whilst on a psychedelic, but here we’re seeing it weeks after treatment for depression, which suggests a carry-over of the acute drug action,” said <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/profile/robin-carhart-harris/">Robin Carhart-Harris </a>, PhD, who directs the <a href="https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/">Neuroscape </a>Psychedelics Division at UCSF and is the senior author of the study, which appears April 11, 2022, in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01744-z">Nature Medicine </a>.

“We don’t yet know how long the changes in brain activity seen with psilocybin therapy last, and we need to do more research to understand this,” said Carhart-Harris, who is the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Sciences and a member of the <a href="https://weill.ucsf.edu/">UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences </a>. “We do know that some people relapse, and it may be that after a while their brains revert to the rigid patterns of activity we see in depression.”

The authors caution that while these findings are encouraging, patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate with psilocybin. The trials took place under controlled, clinical conditions, using a regulated dose formulated in a laboratory, and involved extensive psychological support before, during, and after dosing.

But the study points to a mechanism that, if it holds up, may explain both how psilocybin helps to alleviate depression and potentially other debilitating psychiatric conditions.

“For the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants – making the brain more flexible and fluid, and less entrenched in the negative thinking patterns associated with depression,” said David Nutt, DM, head of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research. “This supports our initial predictions and confirms psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to depression treatments.”

Disclosures, as well as the full list of authors and funding are available in the paper.

Research Shows How Psilocybin Rewires The Brain.

Psilocybin And The Brain.

Results Obtained Post Psilocybin Treatment.

Other curated ideas on this topic: