New research shows how psychedelics reorganise the patterns in your brain

By Devon Stoliker, Turner Impact Fellow, Monash University
Adeel Razi, Professor of Computational Neuroscience, Monash University

One participant described “melding with the MRI machine, floor, walls and air”. Another described “losing all sense of self”, becoming at one with their surroundings. Half the participants in our study reported having one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives.

What were they talking about? Taking psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms.

Participants reported feeling less separation between themselves and world. We scanned their brains during the experience, and found surprising patterns of organisation – while the brain networks that process our…

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