MAGIC mushrooms can help treat depression, a new study has shown.
The drug psilocybin, found in the fungus, can “reset” the brain’s circuits and help ease symptoms, scientists claim.
The researchers gave the mushrooms to 19 people who had not been helped by traditional treatments for depression.
And the participants said their mood was lifted immediately, with the positive effects lasting five weeks in some cases.
Scans showed neural circuits in the brain had been reset, pushing them out of their depressive state.
Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, head of psychedelic research at Imperial College London, said: “We have shown for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments.”
He added: “Several of our patients described feeling ‘reset’ after the treatment and often used computer analogies.”
Magic mushrooms contain psilocybin and its derivative psilocin — which have been classified as illegal Class A drugs in this country since 2006.
Researchers warn that despite encouraging results people with depression should not self-medicate with psychoactive drugs.
Effects of Magic Mushrooms
ALONG with psilocybin, magic mushrooms contain the psychoactive compounds psilocin and baeocystin.
Users report feelings of euphoria, visual and aural halucinations, spiritual experiences and an altered sense of time and space.