The Science behind the Magic: shrooms

[Eastoff]

https://theconversation.com/magic-m...fy-your-brains-dreaming-areas-heres-how-28754

In a new study, published in Human Brain Mapping, we scanned the brains of volunteers who had been injected with psilocybin – the chemical found in magic mushrooms which gives a psychedelic experience – and a control group who hadn’t, and discovered two key things: that psilocybin increased the amplitude (or “volume”) of activity in regions of the brain that are reliably activated during dream sleep and form part of the brain’s ancient emotion system; and that psychedelics facilitate a state of “expanded” consciousness – meaning that the breath of associations made by the brain and the ease by which they are visited is enhanced under the drugs.

 

[Further]

https://theconversation.com/magic-m...fy-your-brains-dreaming-areas-heres-how-28754

The first part, the increased amplitude I understand and that's a straight forward result from the brain mapping experiment. But the second part, talking about the increased breath of associations made by the brain as "expanded consciousness" bothers me because that term is chosen to put a spin on the findings other than just report the results. The increased associations could be described as confusion or schizoid, both those terms gave negative connotations.

The actual results are interesting, but I just don't like the conclusions making a leap from results to value.

 

[magnifier661]

From personal experience, I would suspect that shrooms give you the roller coaster ride. Although it is extremely visual, I think it effects mainly the emotional part of the brain. Probably the serotonin receptors.