Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey there,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Depression treatment is better
Speaker 1: now than ever before, thanks to a variety of prescription
Speaker 1: drug options and improved therapy techniques, but in some cases
Speaker 1: these proven therapies fall short. However, magic mushrooms just might
Speaker 1: be the key to giving those with depressions some much
Speaker 1: needed relief, according to a recent study by researchers at
Speaker 1: Imperial College London published in the journal Scientific Reports. The
Speaker 1: albeit small study looked at the effects of psilocybin on
Speaker 1: nineteen patients for whom conventional depression therapies failed. Psilocybin is
Speaker 1: the psychoactive compound that is naturally present in two hundred
Speaker 1: types of magic mushrooms. The researchers described the results as
Speaker 1: rapid and sustained. In fact, within weeks, the patients reported
Speaker 1: fewer depression symptoms, with several of them describing a brain reset.
Speaker 1: This reportedly lasts for up to five weeks post treatment.
Speaker 1: Other studies have shown positive effects from using LSD and
Speaker 1: m d M a, the act of ingredient in ecstasy,
Speaker 1: to treat some mental illnesses, but this is the first
Speaker 1: study to look at the effect of psilocybin on depression.
Speaker 1: Dr Robin Carhart Harris, head of psychedelic research at Imperial
Speaker 1: and leader of the study, said in a press release
Speaker 1: we have shown for the first time clear changes in
Speaker 1: brain activity and depressed people treated the psilocybin after failing
Speaker 1: to respond to conventional treatments. Several of our patients described
Speaker 1: feeling reset after the treatment and often used computer analogies.
Speaker 1: For example, one set he felt like his brain had
Speaker 1: been defragged like a computer hard drive, and another set
Speaker 1: he felt rebooted. Psilocybin maybe giving these individuals the temporary
Speaker 1: kickstart they need to break out of their depressive states,
Speaker 1: and these imaging results do tentatively support a reset analogy.
Speaker 1: Similar brain effects to these have been seen with electric
Speaker 1: convulsive therapy, which by the way, is not as scary
Speaker 1: as it looks in movies and can be a real
Speaker 1: help to those for whom other therapies don't work. In
Speaker 1: the study, participants were given two doses of psilocybin a
Speaker 1: week apart. Functional MRI s done after each dose showed
Speaker 1: reduced blood flow in certain areas of the brain, particularly
Speaker 1: the amygdala, which is credited with processing fear, stress and
Speaker 1: emotional responses. Greater stability in a different brain network was
Speaker 1: also revealed. The tests appear to show that people undergo
Speaker 1: a temporary disintegration of brain networks during a trip, but
Speaker 1: reintegration follows soon after. Psilocybin has been used for medicinal
Speaker 1: purposes for centuries and became a popular recreational drug beginning
Speaker 1: in the nineteen sixties. Researchers warned that people should not
Speaker 1: attempt to self medicate, as the experimental treatment was conducted
Speaker 1: in tandem with other therapy. They also note these small
Speaker 1: size of the study group and the absence of a
Speaker 1: control group as cautions before making applications to the general population. However,
Speaker 1: the study author's right accumulating evidence suggests that psilocybin with
Speaker 1: accompanying psychological support can be used safely to treat a
Speaker 1: range of psychiatric conditions, including end of life anxiety and depression,
Speaker 1: alcohol and tobacco addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, and, most recently
Speaker 1: from our group, treatment resistant major to ossion. They planned
Speaker 1: test psilocybin against a major antidepressant in another trial. Despite
Speaker 1: these positive results, psilocybin can also cause some pretty crazy
Speaker 1: side effects, like panic attacks, paranoia, strange reactions and outbursts. Also,
Speaker 1: eating the wrong mushroom to get high may result in poisoning,
Speaker 1: so seriously, don't undertake this treatment on your own. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Alia Hoyt and produced by Tristan McNeil.
Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other psychedelic topics,
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com