Magic Mushrooms Might Improve Brain Health
Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, effectively addresses depression and other mental health issues, according to advancing medical research. Exactly how this is accomplished, however, remains a significant mystery. Research at Yale University suggests that psilocybin promotes mental health by improving neural plasticity.
Disrepair of neural connections in the frontal cortex are found in many people suffering mental health issues, such as depression. Studying mice, researchers found that psilocybin rewires the brain by increasing both the number and strength of neural connections in the frontal cortex, a part of the brain that regulates mood and cognition. Even more encouraging, the changes seem to be persist.
The noted changes occurred within 24 hours of a single dose of psilocybin. Also, the changes were still present one month later.