neural plasticity – mycolab.ai

Psilocybin in the real world: Regulatory, ethical, and operational challenges in Australia’s clinical landscape

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Australia has approved psilocybin as a treatment for severe depression, but the rollout faces major practical challenges. Only a handful of psychiatrists are authorized to prescribe it, treatment costs over $20,000 per person, and there are no standardized training programs for therapists. The therapy can profoundly alter patients’ beliefs and worldviews, raising ethical concerns about proper support during and after treatment. The article proposes solutions including national training standards, better funding access, and stronger safeguards for vulnerable patients.

Long-COVID symptoms improved after MDMA and psilocybin therapy: A case report

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A 41-year-old woman with Long-COVID experienced severe symptoms including fatigue, depression, anxiety, headaches, and brain fog that didn’t improve with traditional treatments. She decided to try psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA with guidance from a therapist. After multiple dosing sessions over several months, she reported roughly 80-90% improvement in her symptoms and was able to return to work and resume her studies. While this single case is promising, more research is needed to determine whether these psychedelics are truly safe and effective for Long-COVID.

Catalyst for change: Psilocybin’s antidepressant mechanisms—A systematic review

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This research review examines how psilocybin, a compound from certain mushrooms, may help treat depression by creating changes in both brain function and psychological experience. Within supportive therapeutic settings, psilocybin appears to increase cognitive flexibility, help people better process emotions, and restore a sense of connection to themselves, others, and the world. The antidepressant benefits seem to work through a combination of direct brain changes and psychotherapeutic factors, rather than through pure pharmacological action alone.

Postpartum depression: A role for psychedelics?

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Postpartum depression affects many new mothers and involves feelings of disconnection from themselves and their babies. This review suggests that psilocybin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, might help by promoting reconnection and acceptance. The authors examine safety data suggesting psilocybin could potentially be used safely in postpartum women if appropriate precautions are taken, such as temporarily stopping breastfeeding after treatment.

Meta-correlation of the effect of ketamine and psilocybin induced subjective effects on therapeutic outcome

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This study examined whether the psychological experiences people have while taking ketamine or psilocybin—such as feeling disconnected or having spiritual insights—are actually responsible for their mental health improvements. Researchers analyzed 23 studies and found that these subjective experiences explain about 10% of ketamine’s benefits and 24% of psilocybin’s benefits. Psilocybin’s effects appear more connected to therapeutic outcomes than ketamine’s, and both drugs showed stronger connections between subjective effects and treatment success in substance use disorder compared to depression.

Transient destabilization of whole brain dynamics induced by N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)

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This study used computer models of brain activity to understand how the psychedelic drug DMT rapidly changes how the brain works during an acute experience. Researchers found that DMT pushes brain dynamics into a special state where the brain becomes hypersensitive to small changes or stimuli. This heightened sensitivity is strongest in brain regions rich in serotonin receptors and matches the expected timing of the drug’s effects, suggesting that brief psychedelic experiences may create lasting changes in the brain through this temporary destabilization window.

Psilocybin induces long-lasting effects via 5-HT2A receptors in mouse models of chronic pain

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Researchers found that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, significantly reduced chronic pain in mice through activation of specific serotonin receptors. The effects lasted for up to two weeks after a single dose, suggesting lasting changes in how the nervous system processes pain. This study suggests psilocybin could be a promising new treatment for chronic pain conditions like neuropathy and inflammation.

Selective consolidation of learning and memory via recall-gated plasticity

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Our brains use two memory systems working together: a quick short-term system and a slower long-term system. This study explains how the brain smartly decides which memories are worth storing long-term. The key is that memories get consolidated into long-term storage only when the short-term system can strongly recall them, which filters out unreliable or false memories. This recall-gated mechanism lets the brain remember important information better while ignoring noise and distractions.

The Neural Signature of Visual Learning Under Restrictive Virtual-Reality Conditions

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Scientists studied how honey bees learn to distinguish different colors in a virtual reality environment. By examining the brains of bees that successfully learned versus those that didn’t, researchers found that successful learning caused specific genes to be turned down in key visual brain regions. This suggests that learning involves not just turning genes on, but also turning some off, which may help the brain focus on important visual information. The findings help us understand how animal brains process visual information and learn from experience.

Taste cues elicit prolonged modulation of feeding behavior in Drosophila

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This study shows that fruit flies can remember tastes they recently experienced and adjust their future feeding behavior based on these memories. After tasting something sweet, flies become more likely to feed in the next few seconds, while tasting something bitter makes them less likely to feed. Interestingly, nerve cells must remain active even after the taste is gone to maintain this memory, suggesting the brain stores taste information in a special way.

Research Keyword: neural plasticity