fuckyeahdrugpolicy:

“Many users of psychedelics report the experience as a consciousness-expanding one, and conventional wisdom suggests that such drugs should increase brain activity and blood flow to the brain.

Instead, the research in PNAS showed that psilocybin decreased blood flow to specific regions of the brain that act as “connector hubs”, where information converges and from where it is disseminated. In the paper, we suggest that these hubs normally facilitate efficient communication between brain regions by filtering out the majority of input in order to avoid over-stimulation and confusion. But the hubs also constrain brain activity by forcing traffic to use a limited number of well-worn routes. Psilocybin appears to lift some of these constraints, allowing a freer and more fluid state of consciousness.”

— Amanda Feilding - Magic mushrooms, international law and the failed ‘war on drugs’ | The Guardian

Amanda Feilding is director of the Beckley Foundation, a think tank working for health-oriented drug policies based on scientific research

(via drugquestions)