Magic mushroom compound ‘opens brains of depressed people’

The psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms helps open the brains of depressed people and prevent them from becoming trapped in negative thought patterns, according to a new study.

The researchers said the psilocybin found in mushrooms makes the brain more resilient and behaves differently than regular antidepressants even weeks after taking it.

It’s not the first time the drug has been recommended as a way to deal with depression, but the authors of the latest study believe their findings show that there may be a real alternative approach to treatments.

They said brain activity patterns in depression can become rigid and limited, and that psilocybin can help the brain get out of routine in a way that traditional therapies can’t.

However, experts at Imperial College London have warned that depressed patients should not try self-medication with psilocybin.

Professor David Nutt, head of the Imperial Center for Psychedelic Research, said: “These findings are important because we are the first to discover that psilocybin works differently than traditional antidepressants, making the brain more resilient, fluid and less dependent on negative thinking. patterns associated with depression.

“This supports our initial predictions and confirms that psilocybin could be a real alternative to depression treatments.”

Professor Robin Carhart-Harris, senior author of the paper, former head of the Imperial Center for Psychedelic Research, now at the University of California, San Francisco, said: and has not been seen with a conventional antidepressant.

“In previous studies, we’ve seen a similar effect in the brain when people were scanned while taking a psychedelic, but here we see that weeks after treatment for depression, it suggests a ‘transfer’ of the acute effect of the drug.”

Psilocybin is one of several psychedelic substances being investigated as a potential treatment for psychiatric disorders.

The new findings are based on analysis of brain scans of nearly 60 people being treated for depression, led by the Center for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.

The team behind the study thinks they may have figured out how psilocybin works in the brain.

The results of the two studies combined show that people who responded to psilocybin therapy showed more brain connectivity, not just during treatment, but for up to three weeks after treatment.

Researchers suggest that the findings show that psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, could be a real alternative to depression treatments (archive image)

This opening effect has been associated with people who report improvement in their depression.

According to the researchers, similar changes in brain connections were not seen in those treated with a traditional antidepressant — escitalopram — suggesting that psychedelics work differently in treating depression.

They said their findings represent a promising advance for psilocybin therapy, with repeated effects in two studies.

However, the authors warn that while the results are encouraging, patients with depression should not attempt self-treatment with psilocybin, as taking magic mushrooms or psilocybin may fail in the absence of experimental conditions.

The study was published in the journal Naturopathy †

HAVE SCIENTISTS DESIGNED “RECIPES” FOR “MAGIC MUSHROOMS”?

Decades of research has suggested that the compound psilocybin may have a number of therapeutic benefits, with the potential to help treat anxiety, depression, and even addiction.

But until now, the “recipe” for psilocybin remained a mystery.

In a new study, scientists for the first time identified four enzymes that mushrooms use to produce this compound, paving the way for the pharmaceutical production of a “potent psychedelic drug.”

Scientists identify four enzymes that fungi use to make psilocybin

According to C&E, a publication from the American Chemical Society, after identifying and characterizing the enzymes underlying psilocybin, the team at Jena’s Friedrich Schiller University were able to develop the first enzyme synthesis of the compound.

To arrive at the right “recipe”, the team sequenced the genomes of two fungal species in the new study.

They then used engineered bacteria and fungi to confirm gene activity and the sequence of synthetic steps, according to C&EN.

Their efforts revealed that a new enzyme, called PsiD, removes carbon dioxide from tryptophan, while another adds a hydroxyl group, or oxygen and hydrogen.

Another enzyme known as PsiK acts as a catalyst for phosphorus transfer.

Next, an enzyme known as PsiM catalyzes the transfer of methyl groups.

Based on their discovery, the researchers developed a “one-pot reaction” to produce psilocybin from 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan using three of the enzymes: PsiD, PsiK, and PsiM.

According to the team, the findings could now “lay the groundwork” for the production of psychedelic mushroom-based drugs.