FDA gives green light for magic mushroom research

Score one for science over fear.

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As reported by Medscape Medical News, investigators from Imperial College assessed pre- and posttreatment fMRI data for 19 patients with TRD who received psilocybin in a study published October 2017 in Scientific Reports.

The patients experienced significant improvements in depressive symptoms 1 day posttreatment — and almost half met criteria for a full response at 5 weeks. In addition, whole-brain analyses showed decreases in cerebral blood flow in the temporal cortex and increased resting-state functional connectivity after treatment.

"During exposure to psilocybin, the brain is in a different, more fluid state, where it is not possible to continue having their traditional negative thinking patterns, and in the majority, the brain resets into a nondepressive mode," lead author David Nutt, MD, PhD, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, said at the time.