The affects psilocybin has on our brains is under study by an increasing number of scientists around the world these days, as we’ve got a lot of catching up to do regarding our understanding of this remarkable molecule.

One research study injected psilocybin into a group of participants, and studied the effects it had on their brains compared to a control group that didn’t receive the injection.

They were able to to determine “that psilocybin increased the volume of activity in regions of the brain that are usually activated when we dream, during sleep. It also increased brain function in regions that are associated with emotion and memory. According to the researchers, these effects are akin to what we experience when we dream.”

“It’s like someone’s turned up the volume there, in these regions that are considered part of an emotional system in the brain,” Robin Carhart-Harris, a neuropharmacologist at Imperial College London, told The Washington Post. “When you look at a brain during dream sleep, you see the same hyperactive emotion centers.”

https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/3/5869465/scientists-figured-out-how-shrooms-open-your-mind

Advocates of psilocybin and magic mushrooms claim this increased activity allows them to see things in a clearer way, and with new perspectives. We know in today’s sometimes dark times, a little clarity and brightness can go a long way.