They’re technically illegal in all 50 states. But so-called “magic mushrooms,” or what street dealers and those in the know refer to as “shrooms,” are a highly medicinal reparative food that scientific research put out by the University of South Florida suggests could be used to improve cognitive function. Researchers at the school found that a prominent substance in shrooms known as psilocybin, which is considered an illegal Schedule I drug by the federal government, has the ability to regenerate new brain cells and potentially even cure mental illness. Much like the cannabinoids found naturally in cannabis, the psilocybin in shrooms binds to special receptors in the brain that help stimulate growth and healing, in this case brain cell growth and regeneration. After testing psilocybin on several groups of mice, the research team found that psilocybin helps repair damaged brains cells and alleviate or even cure mental disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and clinical depression. Dr. Juan R. Sanchez-Ramos, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, arrived at this conclusion after testing the effects of psilocybin on mice trained to fear an electric shock when hearing a sound associated with that shock. Mice given small doses of psilocybin learned to stop reacting to the noise much more quickly than those given no psilocybin, illustrating the ability of the compound to literally rewire neurons and promote positive changes in memory...
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 17:00:10 +0000
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