Psychology

LSD Makes Your Brain More Like A Thesaurus

“Scientists found the drug actually elevates an innate language ability.” Family and her colleagues asked 10 volunteers to come into the lab twice and complete a picture-naming task. In one session, participants received a dose of LSD, while in the other they got a placebo. The dose of LSD was enough to cause psychedelic effects…

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Psychology

The drug of choice for the age of kale

“Leanna Standish, a researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine, estimated that “on any given night in Manhattan, there are a hundred ayahuasca ‘circles’ going on.” The self-help guru Tim Ferriss told me that the drug is everywhere in San Francisco, where he lives. “Ayahuasca is like having a cup of coffee here,”…

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Psychology

Worth the trip: psychedelics as an emerging tool for psychotherapy

Thirty minutes ago you were given a controlled dose of a highly potent, and highly illegal, hallucinogenic compound—all in the name of science. Unlike psychedelics, drugs of abuse such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and nicotine strongly stimulate the brain’s dopamine system, which is critical for their habit-forming potential. Neuroscientists have recently studied the effects of psilocybin…

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Psychology

Mind your body: the shroom shift

Now rigorously designed experiments confirm that while recreational use can be dangerous hallucinogens can actually change people for the better—often permanently. What’s remarkable about the recent psilocybin experiments is not just their dramatic effects but the time frame. Personality shifts tend to be slow and gradual in adulthood, barring a sudden trauma, says University of…

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Psychology

A Psychedelic can cure heroin withdrawal

After an ibogaine trip, users tend to describe experiences with a powerful other who describes to them how the world works, including the steps they must take to align themselves to their true paths. Like many other hallucinogens, ibogaine—the psychoactive compound derived from the roots of the iboga tree—induces several hours of awe, insight, and…

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Psychology

Can ‘magic’ mushrooms ease the pain of rejection?

“Lead researcher Katrin Preller of the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich explained that psilocybin has much more specific targets than antidepressants currently on the market.” It’s too small of a study to draw any strong conclusions from, and the participants were all healthy — they didn’t actually suffer from severe social anxiety or depression. But…

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Psychology

Stop the treatment industrial complex

“Mass incarceration is a moral abomination that must be acknowledged, repudiated and unraveled. Prison-like treatment facilities such as forensic psychiatric hospitals and civil commitment centers are also growing in both number and enrollment. Government statistics suggest that employment in these areas will increase by 22.8 percent by 2022.” …a new system has emerged that bears…

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