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ACTG
Stranger



Registered: 02/08/10
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New study on psilocybin
#14257645 - 04/08/11 09:39 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20358-psychedelic-drug-cuts-brain-blood-flow-and-connections.html
Psychedelic drug users throughout the ages have described their experiences as mind-expanding. They might be surprised, therefore, to hear that psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – actually decreases blood flow as well as connectivity between important areas of the brain that control perception and cognition.
The same areas can be overactive in people who suffer from depression, making the drug a potential treatment option for the condition. The study is the first time that psilocybin's effects have been measured with fMRI, and the first experiment involving a hallucinogenic drug and human participants in the UK for decades. Robin Carhart-Harris at Imperial College London and colleagues recruited 30 volunteers who agreed to be injected with psilocybin and have their brain scanned using two types of fMRI. Half of the volunteers had their blood flow measured during the resulting trip; the rest underwent a scan that measured connectivity between different regions of the brain.
Low flow
Less blood flow was seen in the brain regions known as the thalamus, the posterior cingulate and the medial prefrontal cortex. "Seeing a decrease was surprising. We thought profound experience equalled more activity, but this formula is clearly too simplistic," says Carhart-Harris. "We didn't see an increase in any regions," he says. Decreases in connectivity were also observed, such as between the hippocampus and the posterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex. "Under psilocybin you see a relative decrease in 'talk' between the hippocampus and these cortical hub regions," says Carhart-Harris. "Changes in function in the posterior cingulate in particular are associated with changes in consciousness."
Mood swing
Psilocybin has a similar chemical structure to serotonin – a hormone involved in regulating mood – and therefore binds to serotonin receptors on nerve cells in the brain. The drug may have therapeutic potential because the serotonin system in nerves is also a target for existing antidepressants. A study earlier this year by Charles Grob at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that people with end-stage cancer had significantly less anxiety and better mood after receiving psilocybin (Archives of General Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116).
Franz Vollenweider, who works in a similar field at the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, says that the immediate effects of psilocybin are not as important for clinical benefit as the longer-term effects. That's because psilocybin increases the expression of genes and signalling proteins associated with nerve growth and connectivity, he says: "We think that the antidepressant effects of psilocybin may be due to a possible increase of factors that activate long-term neuroplasticity."
Carhart-Harris presented his work at the Breaking Convention conference at the University of Kent in Canterbury, UK, this week
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JesusGoneRogue


Registered: 10/24/10
Posts: 9,495
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: ACTG]
#14257661 - 04/08/11 09:43 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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lil_demented
Loner will lone


Registered: 09/11/06
Posts: 6,146
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Nice read.
A good trip does make me feel like a new man for days afterwards. I've always thought it was a good antidepressant.
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ROFL_my_ WAFFLE


Registered: 08/28/09
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Loc: Florida
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Synesthetic
Ratings go in journal.



Registered: 12/11/08
Posts: 2,715
Loc: Tooele, UT
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Your sig is very appropriate for this thread.
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Patlal
You ask too many questions



Registered: 10/09/10
Posts: 44,818
Loc: Ottawa
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Synesthetic]
#14257778 - 04/08/11 10:10 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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HA!
I always had that hunch that the spiritual crap that comes from mushroom isn't an increase in brain activity!
I always was a strong believer that the sober mind is more powerful than a mind under the efect of something!
So it is true... that mind expansion, spiritual awakening is all bullshit!
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Samuel L Jackson
Bad Motherfucker


Registered: 12/10/09
Posts: 8,395
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Patlal] 4
#14257786 - 04/08/11 10:13 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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but what if the separation allows our brain to more efficiently process data instead of filtering it through unnecessary portions?

im not particularly arguing either way though. just raising what could be a valid counterpoint.
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Samuel L Jackson
Bad Motherfucker


Registered: 12/10/09
Posts: 8,395
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kinda like this.
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Patlal
You ask too many questions



Registered: 10/09/10
Posts: 44,818
Loc: Ottawa
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HAHAHAHAHHAA that cartoon is awesome!
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Synesthetic
Ratings go in journal.



Registered: 12/11/08
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Patlal]
#14257805 - 04/08/11 10:16 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Patlal said: HA!
I always had that hunch that the spiritual crap that comes from mushroom isn't an increase in brain activity!
I always was a strong believer that the sober mind is more powerful than a mind under the efect of something!
So it is true... that mind expansion, spiritual awakening is all bullshit!
The parts they named that had decreased activity are responsible for moderating and routing signals from other parts of the brain.
So although there's no increase in activity, there's less moderation in the activity already there.
I've always thought of psychedelics as doing just that, releasing the inhibitions on the brain and letting it think outside the box, so to speak.
So people who have spiritual experiences had a predisposition to thinking spiritually, even if outwardly they thought they were atheists.
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aj123
smot poking



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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Synesthetic]
#14257834 - 04/08/11 10:23 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Rocker232
Stranger


Registered: 10/17/08
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Patlal] 1
#14257873 - 04/08/11 10:30 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Patlal said: HA!
I always had that hunch that the spiritual crap that comes from mushroom isn't an increase in brain activity!
I always was a strong believer that the sober mind is more powerful than a mind under the efect of something!
So it is true... that mind expansion, spiritual awakening is all bullshit!
I love reading your posts. They always make me laugh 
We know very little about the brain in this day and age. Increased or decreased activity doesn't MEAN anything when you don't know which side of the scale does what. I think a slowing down of processes makes an even stronger argument for spirituality. I don't have realizations about my life when I'm driving a car or doing anything that pushes my brain to its capacity; clarity comes through calmness and a still mind that can look at things through a different lens.
Nice try though 
I would be interested to know what the case is for LSD. This could potentially be why I always find a mushroom trip to be much more powerfully as far as affecting my day to day life than acid.
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With Allure I Look to the Sky With Awakened Eyes
Edited by Rocker232 (04/08/11 10:33 AM)
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Janamil


Registered: 08/01/09
Posts: 1,699
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Rocker232]
#14257928 - 04/08/11 10:48 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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It seems like some parts of the brain are mandatory for life and has been passed on in evolution for a long time. If nothing had the will and selfishness to live, how would it have passed natural selection? Having the ability to shed this evolutionary setback is just one step in the right direction.
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Rocker232
Stranger


Registered: 10/17/08
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Janamil]
#14257960 - 04/08/11 10:56 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Its unfortunate that won't be happening anytime soon, at least not through the eyes I see with. The ego will only continue to get stronger as people increasingly become cut off from not only other human beings but from the world that birthed us as well.
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With Allure I Look to the Sky With Awakened Eyes
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Synesthetic
Ratings go in journal.



Registered: 12/11/08
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Janamil]
#14257967 - 04/08/11 10:58 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Janamil said: It seems like some parts of the brain are mandatory for life and has been passed on in evolution for a long time. If nothing had the will and selfishness to live, how would it have passed natural selection? Having the ability to shed this evolutionary setback is just one step in the right direction.
A lot of social animals place the needs of the pack over their individual needs. Being selfish when your species has the ability to work together for things that benefit everyone is bad for survival.
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Janamil


Registered: 08/01/09
Posts: 1,699
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Synesthetic]
#14257982 - 04/08/11 11:02 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Synesthetic said:
Quote:
Janamil said: It seems like some parts of the brain are mandatory for life and has been passed on in evolution for a long time. If nothing had the will and selfishness to live, how would it have passed natural selection? Having the ability to shed this evolutionary setback is just one step in the right direction.
A lot of social animals place the needs of the pack over their individual needs. Being selfish when your species has the ability to work together for things that benefit everyone is bad for survival.
It was all in the intentions of having family, yourself and your heritage live on, no? Wouldn't it be better to allow yourself to lose this primitive part of your brain at times. I think it would be, especially since the majority of our social instincts have fucked up with the huge change in.. well everything associated with evolutionary development that has happened recently.
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nalyudi
he runs about



Registered: 03/03/08
Posts: 2,256
Loc: Oak Savanna Region
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Rocker232]
#14258286 - 04/08/11 12:16 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Rocker232 said:
Quote:
Patlal said: HA!
I always had that hunch that the spiritual crap that comes from mushroom isn't an increase in brain activity!
I always was a strong believer that the sober mind is more powerful than a mind under the efect of something!
So it is true... that mind expansion, spiritual awakening is all bullshit!
I love reading your posts. They always make me laugh 
We know very little about the brain in this day and age. Increased or decreased activity doesn't MEAN anything when you don't know which side of the scale does what. I think a slowing down of processes makes an even stronger argument for spirituality. I don't have realizations about my life when I'm driving a car or doing anything that pushes my brain to its capacity; clarity comes through calmness and a still mind that can look at things through a different lens.
Nice try though 
I would be interested to know what the case is for LSD. This could potentially be why I always find a mushroom trip to be much more powerfully as far as affecting my day to day life than acid.
I agree. Sciences seem to be missing a large gap before they could really say what this means. Scientific method brings us from general to specific leaving one school of though, yet in fields that relate more closely to the metaphysical like psychology the number of schools of study is growing. In other words the gap to combine and understand how they work is widening. People talk about ego and neuroscience under the same field of study, but they are very different.
As said before I don't think the spiritual or metaphysical benefit can be competently measured.
Think Terrence McKenna! Think outside the box, cliche but important no less
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buckwheat
Cynically Insane


Registered: 12/09/02
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: Patlal]
#14258328 - 04/08/11 12:24 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Patlal said: HA!
I always had that hunch that the spiritual crap that comes from mushroom isn't an increase in brain activity!
I always was a strong believer that the sober mind is more powerful than a mind under the efect of something!
So it is true... that mind expansion, spiritual awakening is all bullshit!
I always was a strong believer that reading comprehension prevented you from making a fool of yourself in discussions.
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Muufokfok
aka BoxyBrown


Registered: 02/14/07
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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: buckwheat]
#14258358 - 04/08/11 12:32 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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mushrooms helped me through fixing my bi-polar*ish* and ocd tendencies, as more of a long term fix.
im kinda in debt to the mycological beauties
-------------------- "I'm guessing the 'ancient lost drug' of india is psychedelic mushrooms. The correlation between sacred cows (in hinduism) and magic mushrooms growing on cow dung is too strong to ignore, if you ask me."
  As the ocean waves, the universe "peoples" ~Alan Watts~
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BothHands
Dog Coffee



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Re: New study on psilocybin [Re: ACTG]
#14258371 - 04/08/11 12:34 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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