A SCIENTIST TOOK A PSYCHEDELIC DRUG — AND WATCHED HIS OWN BRAIN 'FALL APART'

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

A study on psilocybin suggests that psychedelic drugs work by disrupting certain brain networks, especially one that helps people form a sense of space, time, and self. The study, which involved scanning participants' brains with an MRI while under the influence of the drug, showed that the drug caused populations of neurons usually in synchrony to fall out of synchrony. The brain appears to respond to this by entering a state of enhanced plasticity that can last for weeks. The study hints at how psychedelic drugs could be used to treat people with addiction, depression, or post-traumatic stress.