Research Shows Magic Mushrooms Can Offer Real Benefits in Depression Therapy

Psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin have a reputation more as a party drug than as forms of therapeutic medication.

But their similarity to neurotransmitters such as serotonin and their ability to affect our perception and mess with our state of consciousness has made them attractive candidates for treating various psychiatric conditions.

Studies have found patients with severe depression have improved after taking small amounts of psilocybin alongside supportive therapy sessions, with evidence that their brains have strengthened links across previously disconnected regions.

These kinds of results demand attention, demonstrating great potential for using serotonin agonists such as psilocybin to block problematic networks in the brain while therapy can be used to create more functional ones.

A review by researchers in California has shown such studies aren't outliers, prompting a need to step forward with testing.

Their analysis of seven clinical trials conducted over the past decade testing the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on anxiety, depressive disorders, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder has shown the drug.

"Psilocybin-assisted therapy has been shown to be safe in several studies across a variety of patient populations," researcher Kelan Thomas of Touro University California explained to Eric W. Dolan of PsyPost. Compared with other forms of treatment on validated psychiatric rating scales, therapy with psilocybin has resulted in a larger effect, suggesting it could be a better option for many patients, especially those who have failed to respond to other medications or procedures.

"One important distinction from these other session-based treatments would be that the benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy may only require a few dosing sessions and the effects appear to persist longer than other treatment options," the researchers write in their report.

This research was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.