The drug found in magic mushrooms could treat depression in a unique way, researchers say.
This could be seen in increased connections between regions of the brain when patients were scanned. These patients were more likely to experience an improvement in mood months later."This supports our initial predictions, and confirms psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to depression treatments," Prof Nutt said.Psychedelics are a type of hallucinogenic substance which affects all the senses, altering a person's thinking, sense of time and emotions.
All participants also received talking therapies with registered mental health professionals. Brain scans were taken before, and then one day or three weeks after taking the therapy. "We do know that some people relapse, and it may be that after a while their brains revert to the rigid patterns of activity we see in depression."