Psilocybin: Definition And Effects Of This Component Of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms
The functioning of the human brain is highly complex, and this implies that a very wide variety of substances and chemical elements participate in it. Normally, these tiny compounds work in a coordinated manner, maintaining a certain balance in mental processes. However, there are some substances that, when they arrive from outside the body, completely alter the functioning of neurons.
Psilocybin is one of those compounds which, upon entering the nervous system, profoundly affect its overall functioning. Specifically, it is famous for its psychoactive effect.
In this article we will see what psilocybin is, what its effects are and why hallucinogenic mushrooms that contain it have become popular.
Psilocybin is an alkaloid that It is found naturally in certain types of mushrooms which are known to be hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The consumption of these mushrooms as a recreational drug It is due to their hallucinogenic effects, which lead many people to ingest mushrooms out of the mere interest that these experiences arouse; Some users define it as dreaming or becoming aware of other realities, using a vocabulary linked to mysticism.
However, the effects of psilocybin do not need to be explained by mentalistic and dualistic beliefs. In fact, although it is not known exactly what happens when this substance enters the brain, the basic mechanisms by which it causes transient syndromes based on hallucinations are known. Let’s see it.
The brain is, in part, made up of neurons, which communicate with each other exchanging a series of chemicals called neurotransmitters The amount and timing with which a neuron receives different types of neurotransmitters determines what its activation pattern will be, which in turn will be “passed on” to other nerve cells that will end up releasing neurotransmitters, etc.
Psilocybin causes at least one of these neurotransmitters, serotonin, to have more intense effects on certain neurons. Let’s say that this psychoactive compound has a serotonin agonist effect, since it causes more neuronal receptors to trigger a type of activation that should only occur when this substance is present in normal quantities.
The fact that these neurons receive orders from serotonin that are out of time and they do not start from the balance that the body itself maintains, causing hallucinations to appear.
The effects of psilocynin
The main effects of psilocybin begin between 15 and 50 minutes after orally consuming the substance (although it also depends on the state of the stomach), and can last up to 8 hours. They are the following.
Change the perception of time
There are studies that suggest that among the common effects of this psychoactive substance is the different experimentation of the passage of time, making it pass faster or slower than normal, or even creating moments of confusion by giving the impression that it is has entered a time loop.
Expands neural connectivity
Psilocybin makes parts of the brain that are not normally very connected to each other start exchanging signals more frequently. This causes the quality of the perception of the environment to change completely.
It is, on a large scale, something that is quite similar to what happens in people with synesthesia, a phenomenon by which sensory modalities mix with each other, causing, for example, certain sounds to be perceived while evoking the perception of a different color for each of them.
Specifically, some of the parts of the brain in which signs of greater connectivity are seen are the hippocampus and the cingulate cortex, areas linked to the storage of memories belonging to declarative memory, on the one hand, and to experiencing emotions and the creation of plans, on the other.
Causes hallucinations
It is the central characteristic of psilocybin as an element belonging to psychoactive drugs. These hallucinations They can be visual, auditory, tactile and of all kinds
Generates mystical experiences
The hallucinations that occur with psilocybin are not simple “movies” that the user attends as a spectator. On many occasions, the person who has eaten hallucinogenic mushrooms becomes emotionally involved with what they see, hear and touch, to the point of believing that everything is as real or more real than what they experienced before taking the drug.
This causes some of the hallucinations to be interpreted as divine revelations or breaks in reality, through which another alternative reality appears.
Its long-term effects: personality changes
There is evidence that the consumption of psilocybin is capable of producing permanent changes in the user’s mental processes. Specifically, changes in personality. Normally these changes are linked to a tendency to curiosity about the new surely motivated by experiences related to hallucinations.
Research is currently being conducted to explore the possible therapeutic potential of psilocybin and other compounds of hallucinogenic substances and drugs such as LSD. However, due to its recent nature (until not so long ago, research along these lines was not permitted in many countries), there are still no conclusive results, although there are reasons to believe that these resources may be useful in clinical practice in the future
