Magic Mushrooms Can Erase Fear In Mice

[Vitalux]

Magic mushrooms have been a part of medicine and culture since the dawn of humanity on our world.

Personally, I found the encounter with trying magic mushrooms to be of great benefit to both my outlook on life, as well as my mental health. It was on of the tools that completely changed my spirituality and outlook on life.

I was reading this article and found it to be of great interests. Perhaps members of Avalon will find it interesting too. For one thing in common we all share here is fear.






Magic Mushrooms Can Erase Fear In Mice


The active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms may erase frightening memories and encourage new brain cell growth in mice, a new study suggests.
Mice given an electric shock, then a low-dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin, lost their fearful response to a sound associated with a painful electric shock much more quickly than mice that didn't receive the drug.

"They stopped freezing; they lost their fear," said study co-author Dr. Juan Sanchez-Ramos, a professor of movement disorders at the University of South Florida.

The findings, published in the June issue of the journal Experimental Brain Research, only apply to mice, but they raise the possibility that low doses of the chemical could one day be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Hippocampus

Past studies found that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, could induce mystical experiences that could elevate mood, attitude, and behavior and even permanently alter personality for the better. Other studies show that psilocybin decreases brain activity. Trippy Tales: The History of 8 Hallucinogens

But Sanchez-Ramos and his colleagues wondered about psilocybin's role in the formation of short-term memories. Because the ingredient binds to a receptor in the brain that stimulates new brain cell growth and short-term memory formation, the researchers wanted to investigate how it affected the formation of fearful memories. They expected that psilocybin would help mice form frightening memories more quickly.

To test that hypothesis, the researchers played an auditory tone and gave the mice a painful shock. The mice soon associated the tone with the shock and would freeze when they heard it.

But some of the mice received a low dose of psilocybin probably too low to cause psychoactive effects, though there's no way to be sure, Sanchez-Ramos said.

"Mice cannot tell you if they're hallucinating or have altered states of consciousness," Sanchez-Ramos told LiveScience.

Afterward, the researchers played the sound several times without shocking the mice. At the start, the mice froze when they heard it, but gradually, they began moving around normally, indicating they no longer associated the sound with the shock.

The mice taking the hallucinogen returned to normal behavior more quickly than those that had not, suggesting they got over their fear more quickly. At the same time, their brains showed a significant growth in new brain cells.

Eliminate the negative?

"The study in mice indicates that psilocybin (possibly also at moderate doses) may help to extinct fear memory in PTSD or other groups of anxiety patients," Franz Vollenweider, the director of the Heffter Research Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, wrote in an email.

Vollenweider's research has shown that psilocybin can reduce how much depressed patients respond to negative, but not positive or neutral, facial expressions.

"Thus it might well be that psilocybin may shift emotion processing towards the positive in depressed patients," said Vollenweider, who was not involved in the current study.

And in treating PTSD, for instance, veterans could take the drug to disassociate loud noises or crowded spaces with the trauma of a bombing, Sanchez-Ramos said.

By law, psilocybin is a Schedule 1 drug, or a dangerous drug with no legitimate medical uses. So doing the research to test its effects in the United States will be challenging, Sanchez-Ramos said.

Source: http://www.oregonherald.com/news/story.cfm?bid=6018986

[DeDukshyn]

I have to say that certain hallucinogenic drugs changed my life when I was younger and allowed me to throw off the mass hypnosis that engulfs humanity. This hypnosis is maintained by fear, so this report seems to pretty well support my experiences.

There was group in Canada a few years back lobbying the government to create allowances for them to do testing with psilocybin, as they had also some great initial studies and insights into alleviating fears and treating certain mental illnesses. No idea what happened with them.

[mountain_jim]

I have to say that certain hallucinogenic drugs changed my life when I was younger and allowed me to throw off the mass hypnosis that engulfs humanity. This hypnosis is maintained by fear, so this report seems to pretty well support my experiences.

True for me also. Glad to see some research still getting done on these significant plant effects.

[Sunny-side-up]

Never felt any fear while on them and changed my levels ever since! but I always found that made my knees painful!
well all the crawling around on them did
They certainly expanded my lil world

[Youniverse]

Your thread caught my eye because I suffer from OCD. I have heard of some encouraging results in the treatment of OCD with psilocybin. Many people do not realize how distracting and joy-robbing OCD can be. I stopped using Prozac a while back because it didn't seem to help much and I always try to eliminate the use of any pharmaceuticals in my system. I've never used any recreational drugs in my life unless you count the mind altering substance known as alcohol. I've also heard a mix of opinions on entheogens. You hear Gurus like Yogananda say that the spiritual experiences people have with these drugs are not genuine. Then there are the countless numbers of Shamans over millennia that have used them to tap into other realms and bring back great wisdom. So I'm not sure what to think about psychedelics. Rick Strassman's DMT- The Spirit Molecule book influenced my understanding of the potential applications of entheogens. Now I'd have to say I don't have any strong objections in their use as long as someone knows what they are doing or are helped by someone that does. If anyone comes across any recent studies on psilocybin and mental illnesses like OCD I would much appreciate them being posted on Avalon.

[SKIBADABOMSKI]

I though mushrooms were the answer to my prayers when I first experienced them. Incredible weight off my shoulders. I took them everyday for 2 months and then took one alone and put my portable TV on my lap and put the bed covers over my head and stared at the TV whilst it was on VR and played with the volume and brightness for 3-5 hours. When that quilt came off my head and I saw everything I dreamed of seeing I quit drugs altogether. Too much and I nearly lost my mind.

Great experience but once it turns ugly you'll be terrified for life. Don't regret it though. I loved how a rainy bus stop on a monday morning in Manchester could look like the most beautiful thing you have ever set eyes on. It's like living in lego land. Everything looks stupid thats normal and only animals seemed to understand what frequency you reach. It's barmy but terrifically enlightening.

[DeDukshyn]

Posted by SKIBADABOMSKI (here)
I though mushrooms were the answer to my prayers when I first experienced them. Incredible weight off my shoulders. I took them everyday for 2 months and then took one alone and put my portable TV on my lap and put the bed covers over my head and stared at the TV whilst it was on VR and played with the volume and brightness for 3-5 hours. When that quilt came off my head and I saw everything I dreamed of seeing I quit drugs altogether. Too much and I nearly lost my mind.

Great experience but once it turns ugly you'll be terrified for life. Don't regret it though. I loved how a rainy bus stop on a monday morning in Manchester could look like the most beautiful thing you have ever set eyes on. It's like living in lego land. Everything looks stupid thats normal and only animals seemed to understand what frequency you reach. It's barmy but terrifically enlightening.

I had a super crazy trip once on mushrooms - not one I'd ever want again -- it came complete with the most intense OBE and a tour of hell. Wouldn't trade that experience for the world though - it was still beneficial for me.

[Heartsong]

The world doesn't need any fearless mice. Geez.

[Billy]

I read that the Picts and Celts would take mushrooms when going into battle against the Romans. Made them fearless.

The mind boggles as i imagine the blue painted Picts rolling around the battle field laughing their heads off. pun intended.

The Romans did not defeat them though.

[TargeT]

I've had similar results as those stated above:

I wouldn't be who I am today with out my "recreational" exploration of psilocybin (something even today I think was/is ANYTHING but recreational.. its such an intense experience I couldn't do it very often).

I had a fearful experience at 18 and avoided psilocybin for 6 years, then tried it again; still a powerful teacher and I haven't done it since but am very thankful for the lessons it taught me and there is still one that is in the back of my mind, a constant theme threaded through the majority of my experiences....

These types of things may have been so common in the past that we still (unknowingly) celebrate them today:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=suBqqpez_-I