The psychedelic compound found in so-called mushrooms magical It could be used as an aid in the treatment of depression. Scientists at Imperial College London have conducted human trials with silocybin, an alkaloid that “opens” communication between different parts of the brain, especially in patients suffering from depression or anxiety, they said.
According to the results of several combined studies, published in the journal Nature Medicine, who resumed The Independent, people given silocybin-assisted therapy showed increased brain connectivity not only during treatment, but up to three weeks afterward. In contrast, those treated with conventional antidepressants (escitalopram) did not observe such changes in brain connectivity.
Robin Carhart-Harris, former head of the Imperial Center for Psychedelic Research and the paper’s lead author, explained: “The effect seen with silocybin is consistent with two studies involving improvement in people, and not with a conventional antidepressant. In previous studies we had seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned while taking a psychedelic, but here we are seeing it weeks after treatment, suggesting a ‘carryover’ of the drug’s acute action.”
The latest research analyzed the fMRI scans of nearly 60 participants with treatment-resistant depression. Two tests were carried out. In the first, all received silocybin, while in the second they were not told if they had been given the substance or a placebo.
In addition to the medications, all patients also received talk therapy with mental health professionals and had brain scans taken before, one day after, and three weeks after the participants received silocybin. From the improvement of the participants’ scores in the clinical questionnaires, improvements were found in both trials with the treatment that included that substance.
connections
The scans showed that this therapy reduced connections in areas of the brain that are closely related to depression, and increased connections to other regions that had not been well integrated and are more segregated in depressed patients. They found a correlation between this effect and symptom improvement in both trials: although the strength and duration of the effect varied between participants, it was stronger in those who reported symptom improvement.
The authors cautioned that while their findings are encouraging, the trials were conducted under controlled clinical conditions, using regulated doses of silocybin formulated in a laboratory, and involved extensive psychological support before, during, and after dosing. They clarified that patients should not try to self-medicate with this substance, since taking mushrooms magical may not have a positive result.
Carhart-Harris added that these findings have other implications. She explained: “We have discovered a fundamental mechanism through which psychedelic therapy works not only for depression, but also for other mental illnesses, such as anorexia or addiction. Now we have to test if it is the case, and if it is, then we have found something important.”
#Magic #mushroom #alkaloid #helpful #treating #depression #anxiety