A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic that acutely causes distortions of space–time perception and ego dissolution, produces rapid and persistent therapeutic effects in human clinical trials. In animal models, psilocybin induces neuroplasticity in cortex and hippocampus. It remains unclear how human brain network changes relate to subjective and lasting effects of psychedelics. Here we tracked individual-specific brain changes with longitudinal precision functional mapping (roughly 18 magnetic resonance imaging visits per participant). Healthy adults were tracked before, during and for 3 weeks after high-dose psilocybin (25 mg) and methylphenidate (40 mg), and brought back for an additional psilocybin dose 6–12 months later. Psilocybin massively disrupted functional connectivity (FC) in cortex and subcortex, acutely causing more than threefold greater change than methylphenidate. These FC changes were driven by brain desynchronization across spatial scales (areal, global), which dissolved network distinctions by reducing correlations within and anticorrelations between networks. Psilocybin-driven FC changes were strongest in the default mode network, which is connected to the anterior hippocampus and is thought to create our sense of space, time and self. Individual differences in FC changes were strongly linked to the subjective psychedelic experience. Performing a perceptual task reduced psilocybin-driven FC changes. Psilocybin caused persistent decrease in FC between the anterior hippocampus and default mode network, lasting for weeks. Persistent reduction of hippocampal-default mode network connectivity may represent a neuroanatomical and mechanistic correlate of the proplasticity and therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
From my research, neuroplasticity, neurogenesis and dendritic development and branching it is absolutely a factor in psychedelic use. (Ability to learn; neuron growth; neuron connection development)
Me being who I am, I tested this. My experience is my own and of course, highly subjective.
After several months of adapting to psilocybin and understanding what my tolerance was, I started some deep sessions at “breakthrough” or higher doses (+5g of potent strain mushrooms) on the weekends. My goal was to actually rewrite my behaviors as I was fresh into alcohol abstinence and had been struggling with depression and anxiety for most of my life.
While I could go on for hours about the details, I did have a basic plan. I would meditate and focus on specific issues I wanted to correct while trying to gain insight into how and why my mind and body behaved the way it did.
While there is a ton of illusion involved, it seemed that I could choose a different way to feel about something while in the depths of a trip. Mostly because perception is so wonky, it felt like I could isolate feelings and simply decide not to feel bad or anxious about something. I would focus on things like my alcohol addiction and simply choose not to crave the stuff anymore.
What I think the trips did was allow my brain to form alternative ways of thinking through illusion and creativity. By practicing new behaviors discovered during the depths of a trip, I was able to reinforce and make better behaviors a habit.
To simplify, I made my neuron pathways “soft” with psychedelics, focused on positive ways of thinking during a deep trip and then practiced those behaviors while my neuron pathways “hardened” over time.
I haven’t been on antidepressants for a long while now and the thought of drinking again is almost repulsive. While depression and anxiety can easily be linked to alcoholism, I believe alcoholism was a symptom of my underlying mental health.
To answer your question, I believe I was able to reset and rewrite, anecdotally. There are many studies that support this, or at least, suggest this because of the actual physical effects on neurons.
(There may be some evidence of permanent protein degradation around neurons with extended and massive dosing. I need to track the paper down again where I read that bit…)
Now, I’ll eat some mushrooms for fun every once in a while, but I don’t feel the need to do much more than that. I believe I found what I was looking for and have no desire to go further. The few “bad trips” I have had was probably transformative as well, and an overall positive experience in hindsight. (However, I can handle a bad trip. There are many cases of full-blown psychosis due to high dosages by people who are inexperienced and in a shitty environment. Set and setting is paramount.)
Wow, that sounds like my dream of self improvement!
Shrooms aren’t magic, believe it or not.
There was some serious pain involved in my own recovery and I don’t want to hide that.
The risk of what I did was also significant. If you have some addictions you need to eliminate and a life to rebuild, shrooms could probably help. There are also the bits where you need to see reality dissolve or have your visual cortex basically go into overdrive and basically nope-out for a few hours. Stuff like that tends to happen when you go on a mission to get your brain a bit softer.
The common AA trope is quite real for me: If I drink again, I’ll likely be dead. Heart issues or a bad liver isn’t going to get me, but it will be from absolute stupidity. There were some major changes I needed to make. (I don’t subscribe to most of the AA stuff, btw. It helps some people, but I am too stubborn. It’s got some good bits that are very helpful though.)
I only went into that stuff here just to underscore the seriousness. However, munching on a few grams every now and then probably could result in some positive changes too but you have to be self-aware enough to feel them.