Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
Mouse study separates psilocybin's brain rewiring from psychedelic effects
University of California, Santa Cruz researchers found that psilocybin can change brain connections in mice without triggering the same psychedelic-like response.
Psilocybin is the active compound in magic mushrooms and is being studied for possible use against depression and PTSD.
The team tracked tiny connection points on brain cells and found new ones formed more quickly after a dose, with some lasting for weeks.
By changing which cells could respond to psilocybin, the researchers separated connection changes from head-twitch behavior, a measure used in mice instead of human hallucinations.
In unstressed mice, the drug sped up both the formation of new connections and the loss of older ones.
In stressed mice, it increased new connections and slowed their loss, offering clues about how it might help restore brain circuits affected by stress.
The findings could guide efforts to develop treatments that retain brain benefits without psychedelic effects, but the work was done only in mice.
Researchers say next steps include identifying the cells involved and studying how connection changes relate to mood.
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, found in mice that psilocybin-related brain rewiring can occur through pathways separate from psychedelic-like responses.
The team tracked brain-cell connection points and found that new connections formed faster within 24 hours of a dose.
In healthy mice, psilocybin also sped up the loss of older connections, while stressed mice showed a greater net gain in connections.
Researchers separated the effects by manipulating cells that respond to psilocybin.
The findings may inform future treatments for depression, but the experiments were conducted in mice, not people.
- Who
- Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, including Jacob Baker, Emily Kogan and senior author Yi Zuo.
- What
- A mouse study found that psilocybin’s effects on brain connections can be separated from psychedelic-like responses.
- When
- The study was published in Nature Neuroscience; the publication date is not stated.
- Where
- University of California, Santa Cruz. The experiments were conducted in mice.
- Why
- Researchers are investigating whether psilocybin’s potential brain benefits can be used for treatments without its psychedelic effects.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers gave stressed mice psilocybin the day after the stress period ended.
New brain-cell connection points appeared faster in psilocybin-treated mice than in mice given saline.
More newly formed connection points remained in treated mice than in controls.
- Study subjects
- Mice
- Research institution
- University of California, Santa Cruz
- Stress period
- 21 days of unpredictable mild stress
- New connections surviving one week
- 61.3% after psilocybin; 40.6% in untreated mice
- New connections surviving three weeks
- 48.0% after psilocybin; 29.3% in controls
- Stress-related connections restored
- 7.8% after psilocybin; 4.8% in saline-treated controls
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What people are saying
I consider this work a major advance, particularly in our understanding of how psilocybin reshapes neural circuits and its potential implications for treating mental disorders
These findings challenge the prevailing view that psilocybin simply increases neural connectivity and suggest that its effects depend on the brain's underlying condition
Psychedelics are fascinating compounds because they have the potential to profoundly transform who we are by reshaping the neural circuits in our brains
These newly formed connections can integrate into existing neural circuitry and persist over time, leaving a lasting structural trace of psilocybin’s effects on the brain.