MAGIC MUSHROOM

Magic mushrooms create a 'hyperconnected brain': Scans reveal how chemical triggers a spiritual experience by rearranging the mind

• Active chemical, psilocybin, causes dramatic increase in brain activity
• It links up regions of the brain that don't normally talk to each other
• This may be responsible for synaesthesia, the phenomenon whereby different senses are mixed up with others, according to UK scientists
• Study could uncover usefulness of psilocybin in treating depression
• It may also address issues such as where consciousness comes from

They have been credited for inspiring some of the most popular songs of a generation.

Now scientists claim they are closer to understanding why magic mushrooms cause people to have such intense creative and spiritual experiences.

Scans have revealed that its active ingredient, psilocybin, creates a hyperconnected mind that links regions of the brain that are normally have nothing to do with each other.

This triggers vivid hallucinations, often making colours seem oversaturated and breaking up the boundaries between objects.

The increased brain activity could also be responsible for synaesthesia - the phenomenon where different senses are associated with others, according to UK scientists.

Some magic mushroom users have, for instance, reported tasting colours, seeing noises or feeling smells.

'[Users] report it as one of the most profound experiences they've had in their lives, even comparing it to the birth of their children,' study co-author Paul Expert, a physicist at King's College London, told Live Science.

Professor Expert compared fMRI images of the brains of placebo-takers and the brains of mushroom-takers, and found they were significantly different.

According to his study, the brains of drug-takers featured a host of regional links not usually created during normal brain activity.

Professor Expert said the study could help them understand the usefulness of psilocybin in treating disorders like depression.

They also believe their study in brain connectivity could lead to answers for other long-standing questions in science.

COULD MAGIC MUSHROOMS HELP SMOKERS KICK THE HABIT? 

Long time smokers were more successful in kicking the habit when taking magic mushrooms

Quitting smoking is a goal that many fail to achieve.

But a study has found that long time smokers were more successful in kicking the habit when taking psilocybin - the active hallucinogenic agent in 'magic mushrooms'.

The controlled experiment found that 80 per cent of participants successfully quit after six months.

The research was carried out by the John Hopkins University in Baltimore. In the study ten men and five women, all mentally and physically healthy, took part.

Each had smoked an average of 19 cigarettes a day for 31 years but had repeatedly tried to quit, without success. Each participant was given a dose of psilocybin in pill form on a day they planned to quit smoking.

Two and eight weeks later they were then given higher doses of the drug. Each drug-taking session lasted six to seven hours, during which they were kept in a safe and comfortable setting.

They often wore eyeshades and listened to music while being told to relax. In addition they undertook weekly counselling and kept a diary to monitor their cravings.

By the end of the study 12 of the 15 participants were able to quit smoking completely.

The researchers add that the experiment is not an endorsement for taking magic mushrooms, but rather highlights how psilocybin can be useful in controlled environments.

'The big question in neuroscience is where consciousness comes from,' co-author Giovanni Petri, a mathematician at Italy's Institute for Scientific Interchange, told Wired. 'We don't know.'

A separate study earlier this year revealed incredible similarities with brains scanned while a person is dreaming and those who had taken magic mushrooms.

Psilocybin was found to increase activity in the parts of the more primitive parts of the brain linked to emotional thinking, prompting several regions to become active at once.

However, volunteers who had taken the drug showed 'uncoordinated' activity in those areas of the brain linked to high-level thinking, including self-consciousness.

'What we have done in this research is begin to identify the biological basis of the reported mind expansion associated with psychedelic drugs,' said Dr Robin Carhart-Harris from the Department of Medicine, Imperial College London.

'People often describe taking psilocybin as producing a dreamlike state and our findings have, for the first time, provided a physical representation for the experience in the brain.'

One particular network that was especially affected plays a central role in the brain, essentially 'holding it all together' and is linked to our sense of self.

In comparison, activity in the different areas of a more primitive brain network became more synchronised under the drug, indicating they were working in a more coordinated, 'louder' fashion.