MAGIC SHROOMS AND THE BRAIN

In a remote Mexican village on the night of June 29, 1955, mycologist R. G. Wasson along with his companion Allen Richardson was attending a holy communion with a family of Indians. This ceremony was called Velada, in which "divine" mushrooms were consumed that caused the eaters to see visions. These mushrooms which later became famously known as the magic mushrooms belong to the genus Psilocybe. 

Psilocybe

Psilocybe mushrooms have psychotropic tryptamines psilocybin and psilocin which cause the hallucinations. It can cause the boundaries between objects to dissolve, make the colors seem oversaturated and can cause a distorted sense of space, time and reality.

So, how does the Magic Mushroom work?

It has been long known that psilocybin binds to the Serotonin receptors in the brain, which is involved in mood, appetite and sleep.

The above figure is taken from nature reviews which shows a model depicting how psilocin increases the extracellular glutamate levels in Prefrontal Cortex. Psilocin binds to the Serotonin Receptors (5-HT) present in deep cortical layers increasing the glutamate release which then activates AMPA and NMDA receptors. This activation ultimately leads to the increased expression of BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF acts on neurons of Central nervous system and helps to support the survival of existing neurons and stimulate the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses.

Indeed, research has found out that psilocybin allows increased communication between different regions of the brain which causes the brain to be hyper-connected. The brain actually reorganizes connections and links previously unconnected regions of the brain.
The connections return to normal once the drug wears off. 

The above images represent interconnectivity of the brain upon placebo (a) and psilocybin (b). When subjects were given psilocybin there were increased connection in the brain.

While most people experience happiness some users who are in a poor mental state can experience extreme paranoia, anxiousness and depression. Possesion and selling of these mushroom is still legal in some places around the world, though most of the countries have banned it from use. Researchers are working to manipulate the drug to treat different mental disorders but there is still much work to be done. 

"We chewed and swallowed these acrid mushrooms, saw visions, and emerged from the experience awestruck. We had come form afar to attend a mushroom rite but had expected nothing so staggering as the virtuosity of the performing and the astonishing effects of the mushrooms"  R G Wasson