http://healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docid=657350 THURSDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- In new research that will almost certainly create controversy, scientists working with the hallucinogen psilocybin -- the active ingredient found in "magic mushrooms" -- have found that a single dose of the drug prompted an enduring but positive personality change in almost 60 percent of patients. Specifically, tests involving a small group of patients in a strictly controlled and monitored clinical setting revealed that, more often than not, one round of psilocybin exposure successfully boosted an individual's sense of "openness." What's more, the apparent shift in what is deemed to be a key aspect of personality did not dissipate after exposure, lasting at least a year and sometimes longer. "Now this finding is really quite fascinating," said study author Roland R. Griffiths, a professor in the departments of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "And that is because personality is considered a stable characteristic of the psychology of people. It's been thought to be relatively immutable, and stable across the lifespan. "But, remarkably, this study shows that psilocybin actually changes one domain of personality that is strongly related to traits such as imagination, feeling, abstract ideas and aesthetics, and is considered a core construct underlying creativity in general," he added. "And the changes we see appear to be long-term." Griffiths said it's possible psilocybin could have therapeutic uses. For example, he is currently studying whether the hallucinogen might be useful in helping cancer patients cope with the depression and anxiety that often accompany the disease, and whether it might help smokers quit the habit. Griffiths and his colleagues discuss their findings, funded in part by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, in the new issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Working with 51 psychologically healthy volunteers, the study authors conducted baseline personality tests before engaging the participants in a total of two to five experiment sessions, each lasting about eight hours. The researchers said that almost all of the study participants deemed themselves to be "spiritually active." Roughly half had completed a post-graduate education. Not all the sessions involved psilocybin. In fact, the hallucinogen was administered to participants only once, at a dose described as "moderate to high," and the volunteers were never told which session actually entailed drug exposure. A minimum break of three weeks was allotted between sessions. During each session, participants were asked to lay down while wearing both eye masks and headphones (with music piped in) to screen out their external environment and focus on their interior experience. The results: repeated personality and so-called "states of consciousness" testing revealed that some critical aspects of the participants' personalities remained unchanged. In the key domains of neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness, psilocybin appeared to register little to no impact. The exception: "openness." Not only did openness increase significantly in response to high doses of the hallucinogen, it also remained at an elevated level throughout a 14-month follow-up period. "Certainly we want to underscore do not try this at home," Griffiths cautioned. "Because clearly there are several kinds of potential downsides. One is that personality changes are personality changes. Now, we don't have any reason to think that the changes we see are toxic in any way. It appears to be a change that people value in a positive way. But certainly more research needs to be done. "And the other note," he added, "is that we've conducted our research under conditions where we've screened out people who are potentially vulnerable to adverse effects. And we've given the drug in a hospital setting with two people at their side throughout, so there's virtually no opportunity for the patient to do something dangerous. But we know that, shockingly, all the time people who use mushrooms recreationally sometimes end up getting into accidents or engage in homicidal behavior or suicide. "So we certainly don't want to imply that there's not risk associated with these compounds," stressed Griffiths. "And we wouldn't want to be a reason for an uptick for non-medical, uncontrolled use of this sort of thing." Dr. Stephen Ross, clinical director of the NYU Langone Center of Excellence on Addiction in New York City, said he viewed Griffiths' work as a "landmark" in the field of hallucinogen research. "I say this because we think of personality as being cemented in your 20s, certainly by your 30s," he said. "So the fact that openness was increased, seemingly permanently, after a single experience of psilocybin is quite remarkable. "But, of course, as interesting as the implications for future therapies from this might be, the message should be that people should not try this at home or in any kind of uncontrolled environment," Ross added. "This is preliminary research that needs to be replicated. And replicated in a carefully controlled treatment environment." More information For more on hallucinogens, visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (SOURCES: Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D., professor, departments of psychiatry and neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore; Stephen Ross, M.D., clinical director, NYU Langone Center of Excellence on Addiction, New York City; Sept. 29, 2011, Journal of Psychopharmacology) Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. External Links Disclaimer Logo All rights reserved. HealthDayNews articles are derived from various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder.gov does not endorse opinions, products, or services that may appear in news stories. For more information on health topics in the news, visit Health News on healthfinder.gov.
yea...it was a real positive personality change with hallucinations. we thought we were on a space ship and then realized we were in a car stopped in the middle of a busy intersection. it was all really positive. and, watching "The Wall" was really positive, too. So was the trip to Denny's later when we got into a spitting cracker fight. these were all positive personality changes. uh huh.
They will study this phenomena then extract some compound from the mushrooms and make an expensive psychoactive drug, with bad side effects, and worse withdrawals should you ever stop taking it. The new drug will be about 1/5th as effective as taking mushrooms but at least some big pharmaceutical corporation will make money off of it. Which doesn't happen when Joe Average goes to a cow pasture.
"In the key domains of neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness, psilocybin appeared to register little to no impact. The exception: "openness." Not only did openness increase significantly in response to high doses of the hallucinogen, it also remained at an elevated level throughout a 14-month follow-up period." Ok, what is openness and how is it different from those other personality traits?
Last time I did them, I had a great time. Went to a baseball game. Went bar hopping. Partied with family. Won a beer pong tournament. All while laughing hysterically.
It's in the article if you missed it this study shows that psilocybin actually changes one domain of personality that is strongly related to traits such as imagination, feeling, abstract ideas and aesthetics, and is considered a core construct underlying creativity in general," he added. "And the changes we see appear to be long-term.
Interesting. Didn't Steve Jobs say Bill Gates would be better off if he had gone off and done drugs at some point in his life? So anywhere get Shrooms in houston or do we have to go to Amsterdam?
Shrooms are illegal in Amsterdam now too, though I heard you can still get toad stools (cough cough)... DD
Shrooms for me anyways are pretty hard to come by, supposedly they are easy to grow but I don't know, I've never tried.
Well true, they do market the price higher but then they have to spend several years in all of the phases, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars. After it's approved, that company only has 5 years max for exclusive selling rights. Then after, generic companies can make generics
They grow in cow droppings, but only if the cows are allowed to feed on natural grass and not the feed that kills the shrooms from growing. DD
There's a **** load of shrooms down here in Miami, they're easy to grow. Last time I shroomed i didn't while camping. It was trippy but not scary but then again I only took like 2 and a half grams. Quick question, anyone know if shrooms appear on a local pharmacy drug test?
i would never do shrooms. not even if they were served on a pizza, made into tea, or just eaten as is. i wouldn't even consume copious amounts of them if i was at a party in brenham, texas where they were used to spike the delicious trash can punch. oh, and camping would be a particularly good time for me to never gorge on them like popcorn. yeah, i don't think there will ever come a day when i would love to eat some shrooms right now.
Back in the 70's we used to pick them in my friends dad's East Texas cow field. But the way I heard it was the cows needed to be grain fed because the shrooms grew from the spores in the grain, but I don't know.
