Magic mushrooms are no longer a drug for rebellious teenagers looking for a break. They are increasingly used in the therapist’s treatment room. A large study now shows that the drug is very effective against depression.
Nearly a third of patients with major depression saw significant improvement after a single dose of 25mg of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms and truffles, followed by therapy. These are ‘exceptional results’, according to Professor Guy Goodwin, who led the study.
severe depression
It is estimated that 100 million people worldwide suffer from treatment-resistant depression. That is, they have major depression that does not improve after taking at least two different antidepressants. “In this group we see a remission rate of 30 percent within three weeks. That is a very satisfactory outcome,” Goodwin told the British newspaper The Guardian.
The greatest improvement occurred with the highest dose of 25mg psilocybin. Three weeks after taking the drug, 29 percent of this group was in remission, compared with 8 to 9 percent of people who took 1 or 10 mg. After twelve weeks, the positive effect persisted in one fifth of the group with the highest dose.
Golf van neurotransmitters
Psilocybin is broken down in the body into psilocin, which releases a surge of neurotransmitters in the brain. MRI scans show that brain activity is becoming more chaotic and that different brain areas are communicating with each other more than usual through the substance.
“That may sound like a bad thing, but it isn’t,” said psychiatrist James Rucker of King’s College London. “That happens every night: when you dream, your brain becomes more plastic and a little more chaotic. Also, new connections are formed.”
It is not without reason that patients who took part in the study speak of a ‘wake-up dream’, a short-lived experience that was gone before they went home. However, the brain’s increased connectivity lasted longer, potentially making them more open to therapy. “When the brain is in a more flexible state, it creates momentum for successful therapy,” Rucker said.