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Imagine that the Universe we observe, from end-to-end, is just a drop in the cosmic ocean. That beyond what we can see, there’s more space, more stars, more galaxies, and more everything, for perhaps countless billions of light years farther than we’ll ever be able to access. And that as large as the unobservable Universe […]
Psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms, may help re-set the activity of neural circuits in the brain that are involved in depression.
Magic mushroom enthusiasts have long believed that the drug’s ability to induce profound-feeling experiences could be therapeutically useful. Brain-imaging studies have shown that psilocybin targets areas of the brain overactive in depression.
Last year, Robin Carhart-Harris of Imperial College London and his colleagues conducted the first clinical trial of using psilocybin to treat depression, and got some encouraging results. The trial only involved 12 people and no control group, but the team found that after two sessions of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, all of the volunteers had reduced symptoms.
Now Carhart-Harris and his team have shown that psilocybin seems to cause changes in the brains of people with depression. The study involved 19 people who, like in the previous study, had depression that had not been helped by conventional treatments.
Each volunteer was given a 10 mg and 25 mg dose of psilocybin, seven days apart. Brain scans showed that, after taking the drug, activity in some regions of the brain reduced. These areas included the amygdala, which plays a role in processing stress and fear. The participants reported an immediate improvement in mood that lasted for up to five weeks.
“We have shown for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments,” says Carhart-Harris. “Several of our patients described feeling ‘reset’ after the treatment.”
“This is further evidence that psilocybin may turn out to be effective for the most stubborn depression,” says Paul Morrison, of King’s College London. “Developments in this area are a priority in psychiatry. Some people can go through years of suffering, which resist all standard therapies.”
Carhart-Harris’s team warned that people should not attempt to self-medicate with psychedelic drugs.
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Singing Together Brings Heartbeats Into Harmony The neuroscience of singing shows that when we sing our neurotransmitters connect in new and different ways. It fires up the right temporal lobe of our brain, releasing endorphins that make us smarter, healthier, happier and more creative. When we sing with other people this effect is amplified. The […]
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The missing links between galaxies have finally been found. This is the first detection of the roughly half of the normal matter in our universe – protons, neutrons and electrons – unaccounted for by previous observations of stars, galaxies and other bright objects in space. You have probably heard about the hunt for dark matter, a […]
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A chemistry professor has found a way to trigger the process of photosynthesis in a synthetic material, turning greenhouse gases into clean air and producing energy all at the same time. The process has great potential for creating a technology that could significantly reduce greenhouse gases linked to climate change, while also creating a clean […]
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You might think life would be easier, happier, and infinitely more fulfilling if only you could rack up a few more IQ points. But that’s hardly the case, as evidenced by the 100-plus answers on a Quora thread titled, “When does intelligence become a curse?“ Users wrote about everything from the absurdly high expectations that people […]
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When linguists talk about the historical relationship between languages of the world, they oftentimes use a tree metaphor. The textbook version tends to be drab and boring, however, which is why Minna Sundberg, the creator of the webcomic Stand Still. Stay Silenttook the time to create a much more imaginative version. Arika Okrent of Mental Floss writes, “An ancient […]
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When we lose our cool in a conflict, nothing gets resolved and we can feel guilty for our loss of control. But it is possible to learn how to remain calm. People disagree. This is an inevitable part of life. However, minor disagreements often escalate into something much worse, largely because we don’t work out […]
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Regardless of how we define it, success can feel like a fleeting and often elusive target. It takes confidence, passion, and drive to accomplish your goals and to recognize success when you’ve achieved it. Here’s how 20 influential executives and entrepreneurs describe the key to their success.
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A recent international study surveyed more than 500 business leaders and asked them what sets great employees apart. The researchers wanted to know why some people are more successful than others at work, and the answers were surprising; leaders chose “personality” as the leading reason. Notably, 78% of leaders said personality sets great employees […]
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