Not a while ago a group of scientists analyzed and scanned the brains of a group of volunteers who were given LSD and what they found was incredible.
However, they have not taken these drugs in a regular way. LSD is usually taken orally, but the volunteers accepted to get an injection filled with 75 grams of this drug. Thanks to the scanning images, scientists had the chance to see clearly what is going on in the brains of these people and what kind of effects this drug actually bring.
Thanks to Imperial, scientists mapped the amazing changes and modifications in the human brain and this helped them understand the feeling of oneness a distinctive feeling described by LSD users.
The scans they’ve made have shown some significant changes in the brain’s structure that came as a result of the psychedelic activity of LSD. But, what these scientists didn’t know before is that the changes affected more than the human visual cortex. They have realized that LSD can get different brain regions together. In other words, distinctive brain regions that don’t interact with each other had this chance under the influence of LSD.
What is even more interesting is that the sense of oneness that LSD users describe was seen in the process of disconnection in regions that are usually connected.
According to Dr. David Nutt, a reputable scientist and neuropsychopharmacology professor at the Imperial College in London, this discovery can be compared to the identification of the Higgs boson in particle physics. In the past, researchers were not aware of the exact processes that are going on in the brain. Many scientists didn’t have the courage or simply didn’t want to pass all the barriers in order to perform this study.
LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide was artificially synthesized back in 1938. It didn’t take much time before this drug was banned and the ongoing research and analysis of this drug were almost impossible or discouraged. In order to get funds for the scientific study, professor Nutt and his team including Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris used The Beckley Foundation and crowdfunding. The aforementioned foundation is focused on the research of different types of psychoactive compounds.
According to Carhart-Harris, this research helped them identify additional brain areas and regions than usual and participants had clear visual experiences although their eyes were shut. When it comes to the feeling of oneness and identity crisis, Carhart-Harris said that the experience is often linked to some kind of spiritual or religious moment and there is some evidence that once the effects of LSD are lowered people experience enhanced well-being.
Regions in the human brain associated with hearing, vision, movement, and attention tend to connect and bond more than usual when people are tripping on LSD. They get a feeling that their brain is more unified. However, the retrosplenial and parahippocampus areas lose their typical connection.
The scientists are convinced that their breakthrough will lead to changes in drug policy in many countries especially the regulation of the use of substances and compounds related to LSD because they have the ability to help in psychological disorder treatments. Nutt also highlighted LSD’s potential to end dangerous thought patterns linked to depression and addiction.
Besides this scientific study, there were few others in the past that have shown the great therapeutic potential of psychedelics. But, the constant negative campaigns against drugs even against marijuana are still very strong despite the fact that some of these drugs can save people’s health and lives.
Via The Guardian
