6) Magic Mushrooms / Psilocybin
Exploring the Self Scientifically - Magic Mushrooms or Meditation - The Same Route, The Same Result.
Magic mushrooms, with psilocybin as their active ingredient, have been used at least since 10,000 BCE for purposes ranging from shamanic healing to spiritual awakening through mystical experiences. Meditation has similarly been used for millenia for various purposes, including spiritual awakening in many traditions, often accompanied with mystical experiences. Only recently has the cognitive neuroscience been developed to determine how each of these powerful approaches operates in/on the brain.
Just released work on psilocybin in one of the most prestigious journals done at some of the world's top universities is the first known scientific investigation to reveal the operations of the centers and networks in the brain involved in generating the effects of psilocybin. The latest fMRI technology and arterial spin labeling perfusion have been coupled to determine what the cerebral blood flow in individual brain centers is and how those centers are activated and coupled with other centers as the psilocybin levels are increased.
Comparing this work with the latest work coupling cognitive neuroscience and meditation, the astonishing finding is that the same centers involved in generating the transcendent and mystical effects in meditation are the same ones that are manipulated by psilocybin.
Not only that, but recent studies on the mystical experiences of persistently non-dual meditators as measured by the Hood Mystical Scale show that some of these meditators score at the highest possible score; a group of them has the highest average on this scale. Surprisingly, the group that had the average mystical score closest to the persistent non-dual meditators was the psychedelics.
The amazing conclusion is that both non-dual meditation and magic mushrooms produce very similar or the same mystical experiences by the same cognitive neuroscientific route.
Magic mushrooms, with psilocybin as their active ingredient, have been used at least since 10,000 BCE for purposes ranging from shamanic healing to spiritual awakening through mystical experiences. Meditation has similarly been used for millenia for various purposes, including spiritual awakening in many traditions, often accompanied with mystical experiences. Only recently has the cognitive neuroscience been developed to determine how each of these powerful approaches operates in/on the brain.
Just released work on psilocybin in one of the most prestigious journals done at some of the world's top universities is the first known scientific investigation to reveal the operations of the centers and networks in the brain involved in generating the effects of psilocybin. The latest fMRI technology and arterial spin labeling perfusion have been coupled to determine what the cerebral blood flow in individual brain centers is and how those centers are activated and coupled with other centers as the psilocybin levels are increased.
Comparing this work with the latest work coupling cognitive neuroscience and meditation, the astonishing finding is that the same centers involved in generating the transcendent and mystical effects in meditation are the same ones that are manipulated by psilocybin.
Not only that, but recent studies on the mystical experiences of persistently non-dual meditators as measured by the Hood Mystical Scale show that some of these meditators score at the highest possible score; a group of them has the highest average on this scale. Surprisingly, the group that had the average mystical score closest to the persistent non-dual meditators was the psychedelics.
The amazing conclusion is that both non-dual meditation and magic mushrooms produce very similar or the same mystical experiences by the same cognitive neuroscientific route.
Psilocybin was administered intravenously in what would be a "moderate" dose orally and subjects were asked to describe the effects they had and how intense they were. The results are shown in the bar graph above. The highest rated (most intense and most common) was "I see my surroundings change in unusual ways".
Experiments were conducted using the latest blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI technology and arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion to determine cerebral blood flow (CBF). The surprising outcome was that there were significant decreases in CBF in many areas of the brain, particularly the high-level association regions and connector hubs (PCC and mPFC). These centers have been discussed extensively in earlier blog posts as key centers which are also deactivated in meditation, persistently so with sufficient meditation.
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Decrease in PCC blood flow with psilocybin and placebo Magic mushrooms /psilocybin produce the shutdown of the PCC. The PCC deactivates as soon as the psilocybin infusion begins and "extremely intense effects" manifest as you may have heard. |
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Increase in intensity of psilocybin effects with decrease in PCC blood flow |
The decrease in the PCC blood flow with psilocybin was shown to be very significant compared to the control placebo. The intensity of the effects of the psilocybin increased as PCC blood flow decreased.
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PCC - mPFC selfing network (top) replaced by experiential network (bottom) with meditation |
The PCC-mPFC coupling was a/the critical element in the selfing network, which is responsible for the default mode network (DMN).
If, in the course of meditation the PCC is significantly deenergized, or if the coupling between the PCC and mPFC is weakened significantly, the DMN, the wandering-mind network constructed with many different "selfing" centers, is replaced by an experiential, "now, now, now" network, described in the Farb work by the PP/LPFC/insula and monitored and controlled by the ACC/LPFC network.
If, in the course of meditation the PCC is significantly deenergized, or if the coupling between the PCC and mPFC is weakened significantly, the DMN, the wandering-mind network constructed with many different "selfing" centers, is replaced by an experiential, "now, now, now" network, described in the Farb work by the PP/LPFC/insula and monitored and controlled by the ACC/LPFC network.
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Baseline connectivity with different centers compared to the mPFC. Orange are strongly connected; blue are weakly connected. PCC is strongly orange and connected. |
The PCC, the large orange area toward the back of the brain (left side) in the diagram above, (also shown above in the diagram) is strongly correlated to the mPFC. However, when psilocybin is administered, there is a dramatic difference.
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After psilocybin administration, the PCC is now blue/weakly connected to the mPFC |
The PCC is large and is richly supplied with blood, demonstrating its functional importance. The PCC typically has a 20% higher metabolism than most other brain regions, yet in the Carhart-Harris study, psilocybin decreased blood flow by up to 20%. It obviously has a role in high-level constructs such as the self or "ego", but it is also an important connector hub for efficient information transfer in the brain by allowing communication between different regions with the fewest possible connections. It is not surprising that it has such a profound effect on consciousness.
The initial neurochemical route by which magic mushrooms operate is different from that of meditation, but a/the causative factor of deactivation of key selfing centers is the same.
Anecdotally, the same similarity of effects of psychedelics with persistent non-dual meditators has been observed with peyote/mescaline, ayahuasca/DMT and LSD as with psilocybin. This is not surprising as they are all serotonergic and thus operate in similar/the same way.
Source: magic mushrooms work like meditation? the latest science
The initial neurochemical route by which magic mushrooms operate is different from that of meditation, but a/the causative factor of deactivation of key selfing centers is the same.
Anecdotally, the same similarity of effects of psychedelics with persistent non-dual meditators has been observed with peyote/mescaline, ayahuasca/DMT and LSD as with psilocybin. This is not surprising as they are all serotonergic and thus operate in similar/the same way.
Source: magic mushrooms work like meditation? the latest science
Key moments:
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2:58
Two Distinct Subsystems |
10:42
Decreased Connectivity |
11:52
Experiences on Psilocybin |
16:26
Hood Mystivism Scale Statements |
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Key Moment:
24:36 Magic Mushrooms /Psilocybin ; Ayahuasca / DMT |
Misconceptions about nonduality including:
a) that it requires levels, title and an endpoint, b) or religious teachings, c) that no practice is necessary, d) that mystical experiences can't be understood scientifically, e) that psychedelics can produce persistent nonduality, f) that nonduality is a psychotic state, g) that if there is no "I" you won't be compassionate, h) that all research on nonduality is reliable and i) that "no thoughts" isn't the goal. |
Key Moments:
03:29. When to change self-inquiry questions
10:30 Psychedelics compared to meditation experiences
21:52. Doing self-inquiry during the day
31:15 Focusing on breath to reach stillness
32:22 Grief and pain letting go of the "I" addiction/attachment. Sex, social media, running, meditation as addictions.
43:31 Practices for letting go of attachment
51:35 Marijuana w/self inquiry as a practice?
56:20 Relationship of brain and ego/I neuroscientifically
1:00:04 Default Mode Network's role in mystical experiences in psychedelics and nondual awakening
1:07:54 Suffering in Christianity
1:12:00 Why is the success rate so low in nondual awakening?
03:29. When to change self-inquiry questions
10:30 Psychedelics compared to meditation experiences
21:52. Doing self-inquiry during the day
31:15 Focusing on breath to reach stillness
32:22 Grief and pain letting go of the "I" addiction/attachment. Sex, social media, running, meditation as addictions.
43:31 Practices for letting go of attachment
51:35 Marijuana w/self inquiry as a practice?
56:20 Relationship of brain and ego/I neuroscientifically
1:00:04 Default Mode Network's role in mystical experiences in psychedelics and nondual awakening
1:07:54 Suffering in Christianity
1:12:00 Why is the success rate so low in nondual awakening?