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Magic mushrooms relieve depression and now we might know why

<p dir="ltr">Psychedelics like psilocybin, the key active ingredient in magic mushrooms, have become a beacon of hope for people with depression that is resistant to other forms of treatment - and new research has shed some light on how they affect the brain.</p> <p dir="ltr">A team of psychedelics researchers have used MRI technology to understand how psilocybin works in the brain, finding that it first “dissolves” then expands brain connections.</p> <p dir="ltr">The study, published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01744-z" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature Medicine</a></em>, found that certain parts of depressed people’s brains became more interconnected and flexible after two doses of psilocybin, and that the changes lasted for up to three weeks.</p> <p dir="ltr">“These findings are important,” Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist at the Imperial College London and one of the senior authors of the study, said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For the first time we find that psilocybin works differently from conventional antidepressants - making the brain more flexible and fluid, and less entrenched in the negative thinking patterns associated with depression.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Though magic mushrooms have been used for their healing properties by Indigenous people for a long time, per <em><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-finally-figured-out-how-magic-mushrooms-might-relieve-depression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ScienceAlert</a></em>, their use in clinical trials - and our understanding of how they work - is limited.</p> <p dir="ltr">Previous research from Professor Nutt and his colleagues found that a combination of psilocybin and psychological therapy was as effective as taking escitalopram, a common antidepressant, without the common side effects that can include weight gain, reduced libido, and insomnia.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though this and other small studies have shown the benefits of psilocybin, how it works in the brain has been poorly understood until Professor Nutt’s most recent study.</p> <p dir="ltr">He and his team analysed the brain scans of 43 people with clinical depression who had participated in two previous clinical trials, including 22 people treated with psilocybin, and 21 people who received escitalopram.</p> <p dir="ltr">They found that those who received psilocybin had greater connectivity in regions of the brain that are rich in serotonin receptors which are usually segregated in depressed patients. A day after treatment, their brain networks were more interconnected and flexible, while no such changes were seen in the people taking the antidepressant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This supports our initial predictions and confirms psilocybin could be a real alternative approach to depression treatments,” Professor Nutt said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Their findings match those of a study from 2020, which found similar changes in brain network connectivity up to a month after one dose of psilocybin.</p> <p dir="ltr">As exciting as these findings are, neuroscientist and fellow senior author Dr Robin Carhart-Harris said more research is needed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We don’t know yet how long the changes in brain activity seen with psilocybin therapy last and we need to do more research to understand this,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We do know that some people relapse, and it may be that after a while their brains revert to the rigid patterns of activity we see in depression.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Either way, the researchers hope their findings pave the way for studying psilocybin’s effect on other mental illnesses characterised by rigid thought patterns, such as anorexia and addiction.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We now need to test if this is the case, and if it is, then we have found something important,” Dr Carhart-Harris said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3043ebe9-7fff-c5f3-3351-6e620f6ff71e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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TGA announces final decision: MDMA and psilocybin will not be rescheduled

<p>In October, Cosmos <a style="font-size: 14px;" rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/tga-psilocybin-report/" target="_blank">reported</a><span style="font-size: 14px;"> on the pending decision from Australia’s drug regulator on the potential rescheduling of psilocybin and MDMA from Schedule 9 (Prohibited Substances) to Schedule 8 (Controlled Medicines) of the Poisons Standard.</span></p> <div class="copy"> <p>The shift would see these treatments move beyond their current use solely in restricted clinical trials to broader applications in the treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders.</p> <p>At the time the article was written, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had received 453 supportive submissions for MDMA and 575 for psilocybin, and 11 opposed for each. A growing body of experts was pushing strongly to have the two treatments down-scheduled.</p> <p>Earlier this week, the TGA announced its <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-decision-final/notice-final-decisions-amend-or-not-amend-current-poisons-standard-relation-psilocybin-and-mdma" target="_blank">final decision</a>: MDMA and psilocybin will not be rescheduled for use as medicines at this time.</p> <p>This will be a blow to those who have been advocating for the substances’ inclusion as controlled medicines, citing evidence of safety and efficacy for a range of clinical treatments. However, a number of researchers have welcomed the news.</p> <p>Citing research published by Dr Martin Williams, Executive Director of Psychedelic Research In Science &amp; Medicine (PRISM Ltd), and colleagues, the TGA announcement notes that any changes to the scheduling of MDMA and psilocybin must be done with the current Australian clinical context in mind, ensuring that Australia’s medical community is adequately equipped with expertise in both administration and ethical use.</p> <p>Williams has subsequently expressed his support for the announcement, noting that this decision reflects insufficient evidence rather than any identified safety concerns.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p177271-o1" class="wpcf7"> <p style="display: none !important;"> </p> <!-- Chimpmail extension by Renzo Johnson --></div> </div> <p>“While excellent late-phase clinical research is ongoing around the world, and the results so far have been very promising, we agree that the standards of evidence required for formal approval and implementation still need to be met,” Williams says.</p> <p>He reiterates that the decision doesn’t mark the end of the road for the drugs in a clinical setting, but simply ensures research continues to work towards establishing safe practices.</p> <p>“Australian research needs to be conducted to ensure successful implementation in the local environment, to engage our medical community, and to pave the way towards appropriate training and accreditation of Australian mental health professionals in this game-changing area of mental health practice,” he says.</p> <p>Fellow PRISM director Dr Stephen Bright agreed with this position, stating that rescheduling at this time would be “premature given there is still no accredited training in Australia”.</p> <p>“My concern was that the application for rescheduling, as submitted, did not go far enough to ensure adequate clinical governance for the use of these powerful therapeutic drugs,” says Bright.</p> <p>“Without an established and integrated system of clinical governance for the provision of psychedelics, rescheduling alone may open the door to unsafe and unethical practices. Appropriate training in this novel and paradigm-changing approach is still broadly lacking, even among mental health professionals.”</p> <p>“At PRISM Ltd, our focus remains on completing the research we are engaged in that will put Australia in a better position to make these drugs medicines.”</p> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=177271&amp;title=TGA+announces+final+decision%3A+MDMA+and+psilocybin+will+not+be+rescheduled" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication --></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/australia/psychedelics-will-not-be-rescheduled/" target="_blank">This article</a> was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/jamie-priest" target="_blank">Jamie Priest</a>. Jamie Priest is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Adelaide.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

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