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Magic Mushrooms May ‘Reset’ Brains of Depressed Patients Aim: To investigate the treatment of depression using psilocybin Method: 20 patients with a treatment-resistant form of the disorder. Given two doses of psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg), with the second dose a week after the first. Nineteen of these underwent initial brain imaging and then the second scan one day after the high dose treatment. Used two main brain imaging methods to measure changes in blood flow and the crosstalk between brain regions. (fMRI) Patients reported their depressive symptoms through completing clinical questionnaires. Results: fMRI imaging revealed reduced blood flow in areas of the brain, including the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped region of the brain known to be involved in processing emotional responses, stress, and fear. We have shown for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments. Psilocybin may be giving these individuals the temporary ‘kick start’ they need to break out of their depressive states. Conclusion: The psychedelic compound may effectively reset the activity of key brain circuits known to play a role in depression. However many other implications can be drawn and highlighted about drug use. As the authors warn “while the initial findings are encouraging, the research is at an early stage and patients with depression should not attempt to self-medicate, as the team provided a special therapeutic context for the drug experience and things may go awry if the extensive psychological component of the treatment is neglected”. Limitations: The authors note that while the initial results of the experimental therapy are exciting, they are limited by the small sample size as well as the absence of a control group – such as a placebo group – to directly contrast with the patients. Imperial College London “Magic Mushrooms May ‘Reset’ Brains of Depressed Patients.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 12 October 2017. <http://neurosciencenews.com/magic-mushrooms- depression-7734/>.
