Scientist Took Magic Mushrooms, Saw His Brain ‘Collapse’

A scientist has said he saw his brain ‘collapse’ after taking psychedelic drugs as part of a new clinical trial.

Dr. Nico Dosenbach of the University of Washington was one of seven participants in an experiment that studied how participants responded to taking psilocybin — the main active ingredient in magic mushrooms, also known as shrooms.

The neuroscientist reported a heightened “sense of self” when the drug took effect and had a near-religious experience that made him believe he “was the universe.”

The study results provided a rare glimpse into how these types of drugs can offer lasting relief to people with depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders.

“My sense of identity expanded as if I was the universe,” Dr. Dosenbach told CNN of his experience taking psilocybin.

“Other people have said they’ve seen God, and if I’m very religious I could see it, but for me it was more like, ‘Oh, I’m the universe.’

Psilocybin works on the part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is responsible for reflecting on thoughts and experiences that help individuals define their identity.

It’s similar to how antidepressants target the brain to interrupt the “negative thought loop, or stuck thinking that can occur with depression,” study co-author Ginger Nichol told CNN.

Psilocybin remains illegal in most of the United States, but the Food and Drug Administration approved it as a “breakthrough therapeutic” drug in 2018 for clinical trials to treat severe depression.

Dr. Dosenbach was in the psilocybin group that received 25 milligrams of the drug, while some participants received 40 milligrams of Ritalin – a stimulant prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The neuroscientist said he was not told whether he was receiving psilocybin or the stimulant in the new study.

“Until the effect was felt, no one in the trial knew whether they had taken psilocybin or Ritalin, which was chosen as a placebo because it is also stimulating, like drinking a coffee or two,” Dr. Dosenbach told CNN.

“But then I thought, no, this is not a placebo,” he said. “I was the tablet computer and my thoughts were like those of a computer, which of course makes no sense.”

“I was aware that it wasn’t normal, but it wasn’t scary.”

At least 18 brain scans were taken of each participant before, during and after the trial, using a heat map of red, orange and yellow hues to show the change in normal brain activity and blue and green to reflect the brain in its normal state.

Dr. Dosenbach said he was very interested in his response to the psychedelic and seeing the results play out on brain scans.

“It was a really great experience for a neuroscientist,” he told NPR.

“It’s really fascinating how your brain can break down, because the way something breaks tells you how something works.”

However, another participant reported that he had a more vivid and biblical reaction, and said he “felt the light of God shining on him,” Nichol said.

“We were able to go to that exact spot on the scanner and pinpoint when he felt that – it happened at the height of the desynchronization (from typical brain pathways).”

“Psilocybin, unlike any other drug we’ve tested, has this massive effect on the whole brain that was quite unexpected,” the doctor told the New York Times.

“It was quite shocking to see the magnitude of the effect.”

The scans also showed a slight change in brain activity in those who had received Ritalin, but the neural adjustment for those who had taken psilocybin was three times greater.

The researchers conducted a second study on four of the participants who returned to test the psychedelic drug six to 12 months later, including the man who felt like God, but this time his reaction was quite different.

“He had an almost religious experience the first time,” Nichol told NPR. “The second time, he saw demons.”

Although psilocybin has shown promise in combating anxiety and mental health disorders, some people may experience persistent and distressing visions depending on their mental state, personality and current environment, according to Medical News Today.

Brain scans revealed that within days of taking psilocybin, participants’ brain networks returned to normal, but the connection to their hippocampus lasted for up to three weeks.

This persistent effect could explain how the drug could have a therapeutic impact on people with mental disorders.

“The initial effect is massive, and when it wears off, it’s just a one-time effect,” Dr. Dosenbach said. “That’s exactly what you want to see for a potential drug.”

“You don’t want people’s brain networks to be destroyed for days, but you also don’t want everything to go back to the way it was right away,” he said. “You need an effect that lasts long enough to make a difference.”

DailyMail.com has contacted the researchers for comment.