Science

College student discovers psychedelic fungus that eluded LSD inventor

Morning glories were already known to contain a class of chemicals called ergot alkaloids. These chemicals, made exclusively by fungi, are the same class that the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann used to create LSD in the 1930s. Hofmann worked with the fungus Claviceps purpurea, commonly found on rye, to synthesize LSD; he came to suspect that Mexican…

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Psychedelics boost brain flexibility for weeks, new study shows

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the University of Michigan have found that a single dose of a psychedelic compound can significantly enhance cognitive flexibility, the brain’s ability to adjust to new information and changing circumstances, for several weeks.  Using an innovative automated sequential learning paradigm, researchers evaluated how well mice could adapt to rule…

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An LSD analogue for treating psychiatric diseases

Certain psychiatric diseases, such as depression and schizophrenia, feature a loss of structures called dendritic spines from neurons. Dendritic spines form the receiving end of synapses, or connections between neurons. … the team tried switching the places of two atoms in LSD. This resulted in a compound that had the same 3D structure as LSD…

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A dose of psilocybin stirred the brain of a barely conscious woman

In this case, a team of neuroscientists and clinicians documented the effects of psilocybin on a 41-year-old woman in a minimally conscious state with language-mediated responses – referred to as MCS+. One year earlier, she had suffered a traumatic brain injury. People in this state show intermittent signs of awareness, such as following commands or…

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Compass Pathways announces completion of recruitment for the Phase 3…

 Final participants are completing pre-dosing activities, including antidepressant medication washout where necessary. The trial is part of the largest randomized, controlled, double-blind psilocybin treatment clinical program ever conducted… COMP360 is being investigated as a potential… treatment for mental health conditions, administered with psychological support. Original Article (stocktitan):Compass Pathways announces completion of recruitment for the phase…

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Psilocybin put rat brains ‘back together’ after mild head trauma

In a preprint of the paper, the authors explain how psilocybin was able to restore brain function in adult rodents after a series of mild, repetitive head injuries, designed to mimic the sort of damage that typically affects athletes, military personnel, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence. While the same benefits of psilocybin may not occur in human brains,…

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…mothers of the mushroom

While large-scale studies are lacking, Mothers of the Mushroom gathered data points concerning mothers who ingested psilocybin during pregnancy and breastfeeding… offers insight from over 400 women who have used psilocybin while pregnant or breastfeeding… …[also] in a controlled study on pregnant rats using c-psilocin, no fetal fatalities were observed. While this does not confirm…

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…calls about mushrooms increased nationwide with more use of psychedelics – but remained low, CU (University of Colorado) study finds

Poison control calls… most cases were relatively mild. Of callers who used hallucinogenic mushrooms, 28% reported minor or no effects on their health, 44% reported moderate impacts and 4% reported major problems. The most common complications were (presumably unpleasant) hallucinations or delusions; agitation; fast heart rate; nausea or vomiting; confusion; and pupil dilation. The most…

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Magic mushrooms may help reverse stress-induced memory deficits, new study suggests

The study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, found that when administered under specific conditions, the mushroom extract restored spatial learning and memory impairments and increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein essential for brain plasticity. These effects were observed in rats subjected to a chronic unpredictable mild stress protocol, a widely used…

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