Even today, this naturally grown fungus is commonly used as a recreational drug, causing

hallucinations, but how exactly does it work?

The main psychoactive ingredient in shrooms is call psilocybin. When ingested, the body

breaks it down into the active drug psilocin, which makes its way to the brain. And here,

it begins to prevent the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin, increasing its activity. On top

of this, psilocin actually has a similar chemical structure to serotonin, meaning it can also

bind to and stimulate receptors in the brain. This amplified stimulation causes you to perceive

and experience things without any real stimulus - also know as hallucination. These can be

of a varying nature, from visual to auditory sensations, or mystical and insightful feelings.

And while the experience can be quite enjoyable, some users have reported very unpleasant episodes.

These feelings generally last between 3-8 hours, but could feel much longer as the drug

alters your sense of time.

Scientists have also suggested that the brain may temporarily rearrange itself by inhibiting

normal brain activity and immediately creating new biologically stable brain connections.

This, ultimately, makes it harder to determine reality from fantasy, and amplifies your intensity

of thought which makes planning ahead and self conscious thinking almost impossible.

We also see activation in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex which are associated

with dreaming. *Finally, specific emotional regions of the brain are chemically activated,

which can lead to a sense of expanding consciousness. And because the drug temporarily alters the

paths in your brain, ‘thinking outside of the box’ becomes extremely natural.

In a famous US study, 36 college educated participants were given psilocybin and observed

in a laboratory. 1/3rd of the participants reported the experience as the single most

spiritually significant moment in their lives, with ⅔rds putting it in their top five.

Two months after taking the drug, 79% of the participants reported increased well-being

and satisfaction. Friends and family were also interviewed and agreed with these claims.

But it’s not all so positive - 22% of the clinically tested individuals experienced

fear and paranoia at certain points during their trip. And because of the state of their

brains, these typically manifested as terrifying and uncontrollable hallucinations. *L

Though much is still unknown about shrooms, they’re not considered clinically addictive

and cause little toxicity to other organ systems. In fact, a UK study found that they cause

the least amount of damage - both to the individual and others - when compared to other recreational

drugs. Ultimately, scientists believe the laws need to change around clinical testing

of the drug so advanced research can be executed to fully understand both the positive and

negative effects that this “magic” fungus has on our brains.

Got a burning question?

And if you haven’t seen our video on the science behind “Type A vs Type B” personalities,

you can check it out on our second channel AsapTHOUGHT! Link in the description!

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