Psilocybin

Researchers in the United Kingdom studied whether the effects of psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic drug, depend on the body mass index of the person, thereby requiring higher doses for the same effect in heavier people. The results showed that...

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that psilocybin therapy may offer therapeutic benefits for patients with treatment-resistant depression. When administered alongside psychological support, a 25 mg psilocybin dose reduced depression scores among treatment-resistant patients. However,...

A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology investigates the relationship between psilocybin, mindfulness, mystical-type experiences, and serotonin receptors in the brain. The new findings indicate that when taking psilocybin, those who report mystical-type experiences are more likely to have...

A team of researchers has started to investigate whether psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in so-called "magic" mushrooms, shows promise as a potential treatment for obesity and eating disorders.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms offers mental health benefits. But a recent experimental study suggests that these purported benefits may be driven by users’ expectations. Findings from the placebo-controlled experiment were published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.

Psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” has been shown to be a promising treatment for various mental health issues. New research published in Scientific Reports found that people who microdose psychedelics displayed greater improvements in mental health and mood...

Scientists have taken an important first step into studying the effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin -- the active substance in "magic" mushrooms -- at a cellular and genetic level. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, indicate that a single...

Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, has been shown to be an promising treatment of mood and addictive disorders. Psilocybin is associated with general long-lasting positive psychological effects in healthy individuals as well. New research published in Frontiers in...

Despite a number of clinical trials showing that psilocybin can rapidly treat depression, including for cancer-related anxiety and depression, little is known about how psilocybin actually works to relieve depression in the brain.

Psilocybin-assisted therapy has shown promise as a treatment for depression. New research published in Cannabis finds that cannabis users expected that cannabis-assisted therapy could produce similar subjective experiences and have similar therapeutic benefits for the treatment of depression as psilocybin-assisted...

An analysis of a large international drug survey suggests that psilocybin is a relatively safe drug, with only 0.2% of magic mushroom users having sought emergency medical care after use. The findings, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, further suggest that such...

People with depressive symptoms appear to think it is relatively important that guides for psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy have personally used the psychedelic substance themselves, according to a new study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

Opioid abuse is a prevalent and very dangerous substance use disorder. Psychedelic use has been proposed as a treatment for various substance use disorders, leading people to question if it would be an effective treatment for opioid abuse. A study...

Psilocybin is the primary mind-altering substance in psychedelic “magic” mushrooms. Preliminary research has indicated that combining psilocybin with supportive psychotherapy can result in lasting improvements in patients with major depressive disorder and the findings have resulted in glowing media coverage....

The psychedelic substance psilocybin causes transient changes to the sleep-wake architecture of laboratory mice, according to new preliminary research published in Translational Psychiatry. The findings provide new details about how the drug impacts sleep-related brain activity.