A new study suggests that a single dose of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, can bring about measurable and lasting changes in the brain while promoting psychological well-being for up to a month.

Researchers found that when the brain’s usual activity patterns are disrupted by psilocybin, people can experience meaningful improvements in mental state that extend well beyond the immediate psychedelic effects.

Unlike earlier studies that focused on patients with depression or anxiety, this research looked at 28 healthy volunteers who had never taken psilocybin before. Each participant received a 25 milligram dose, enough to trigger a complete psychedelic experience.

The findings could help explain why psilocybin has shown promise in treatments for depression, addiction, and anxiety, according to neurologist Robin Carhart-Harris of the University of California, San Francisco.

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“We already knew psilocybin could be helpful for treating mental illness,” Carhart-Harris said. “But now we have a much better understanding of how.”

To explore those effects, the team conducted psychological tests focused on cognitive flexibility, well-being, and personal insight obtained from the experience.

They also used several brain imaging techniques to assess activity, including electroencephalography, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Electrical activity was recorded before the trip and then at intervals of one, two, and four and a half hours during it, while brain scans were taken before the session and again one month later.

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Participants attended two sessions. They believed each would include psilocybin, but they did not know the amount. The first session was a control using a one milligram dose, low enough to act as a placebo, followed a month later by the full 25 milligrams.

It became clear to participants which session contained the active dose, a factor the researchers note may have influenced the results.

Despite that limitation, data showed a relationship between temporary increases in brain entropy, a measure of varied neural activity, and reports of psychological insight the following day.

Those who demonstrated greater entropy and deeper insights during the trip also showed improved mental well-being one month afterward.

“Our data shows that such experiences of psychological insight relate to an entropic quality of brain activity and how both are involved in causing subsequent improvements in mental health,” Carhart-Harris explained.

“It suggests that the trip – and its correlates in the brain – is a key component of how psychedelic therapy works.”

The sense of insight itself appears critical to the longer-term benefits. Researchers suggest this could guide clinicians in optimizing psilocybin therapy by identifying dosages and conditions that encourage deeper revelations.

Still, not all experts fully agree on the role of brain entropy. A recent critical review by an international team of neuroscientists argues that focusing too narrowly on entropy may oversimplify the complex biology of psychedelic experiences.

Carhart-Harris and his coauthors acknowledge that they may not yet have the right tools to detect subtle, lasting brain changes after psilocybin and call for further work to refine these methods.

Neuroscientist Taylor Lyons of Imperial College London called the findings “especially exciting.” Lyons added, “Psilocybin seems to loosen up stereotyped patterns of brain activity and give people the ability to revise entrenched patterns of thought.”

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