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Psychedelic drug

Psychedelic drugs are psychoactive drugs whose primary action is to alter the thought processes of the brain.

Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Psychedelic drug", which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.

For more information, see the following related content on ScienceDaily:

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Is There a Common Path to the Psychedelic Experience?

Apr. 25, 2023 — A study takes a closer look at the neurobiology of psychedelic experiences caused by nitrous oxide, ketamine and ...

Research Reveals Role of Genetic Variants on Psychedelics' Therapeutic Effects

July 27, 2022 — Researchers report that common genetic variations in one serotonin receptor could be a reason why people with psychiatric conditions, such as depression, respond differently to psychedelic ...

Psychedelic Science Holds Promise for Mainstream Medicine

Mar. 10, 2021 — A team of neuroscientists is uncovering how psychedelics affect brain activity. New work shows a strong connection in rodent models between brain activity and behaviors resulting from psychedelic ...

Researchers Identify a Psychedelic-Like Drug Without the Hallucinogenic Side Effects

Apr. 28, 2021 — Psychedelic drugs have shown promise for treating neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, due to their hallucinatory side effects, some researchers are ...

New Study Explores Relationship Between Psychedelics and Consciousness

Mar. 31, 2022 — A new study addresses the question of whether psychedelics might change the attribution of consciousness to a range of living and nonliving ...

Psychedelic Experience May Not Be Required for Psilocybin's Antidepressant-Like Benefits

Apr. 13, 2021 — Researchers have shown that psilocybin -- the active chemical in 'magic mushrooms' -- still works its antidepressant-like actions, at least in mice, even when the psychedelic experience is ...

Advanced Brain Imaging Study Hints at How DMT Psychedelic Alters Perception of Reality

Mar. 20, 2023 — Scientists have gleaned new insights into how psychedelics alter conscious experience via their action on brain ...

Psychedelic Drugs Reopen 'Critical Periods' for Social Learning

June 14, 2023 — Neuroscientists have long searched for ways to reopen 'critical periods' in the brain, when mammals are more sensitive to signals from their surroundings that can influence periods of brain ...

Placebo Effect May Explain Reported Benefits of Psychedelic Microdoses

Mar. 2, 2021 — Positive psychological effects associated with taking small doses of psychedelic drugs are likely the result of users' expectations, suggests a new ...

Psychedelics May Lessen Fear of Death and Dying, Similar to Feelings Reported by Those Who've Had Near Death Experiences

Aug. 24, 2022 — In a survey study of more than 3,000 adults, researchers compared psychedelic experiences with near-death experiences that were not drug related and found notable similarities in people's ...

Mind & Brain News

September 22, 2023

Jellyfish, With No Central Brain, Shown to Learn from Past Experience

Sep. 22, 2023 — Even without a central brain, jellyfish can learn from past experiences like humans, mice, and flies, scientists report for the first time. They trained Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles. The study ...

Scientists Regenerate Neurons That Restore Walking in Mice After Paralysis from Spinal Cord Injury

Sep. 21, 2023 — In a new study in mice, researchers have uncovered a crucial component for restoring functional activity after spinal cord injury. The neuroscientists have shown that re-growing specific neurons back ...

New Evidence Indicates Patients Recall Death Experiences After Cardiac Arrest

Sep. 14, 2023 — Up to an hour after their hearts had stopped, some patients revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had clear memories afterward of experiencing death and had brain patterns while unconscious ...

Healthy Lifestyle Can Help Prevent Depression -- And New Research May Explain Why

Sep. 11, 2023 — A healthy lifestyle that involves moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, regular physical activity, healthy sleep and frequent social connection, while avoiding smoking and too much sedentary ...

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Fruit Flies Offer Clues to How Brains Make Reward-Based Decisions

Sep. 22, 2023 — New research finds fruit flies make decisions based on their expectations about the likelihood of a reward and pinpoints the site in the fly brain where these value adjustments are made, enabling ...

College Athletes Experience Worse Post-Injury Outcomes for Concussions Suffered Outside of Sports

Sep. 20, 2023 — Researchers found that college athletes had worse post-injury outcomes related to concussions they experienced outside of sports than those they ...

Young Children Do Better at School If Their Dads Read and Play With Them

Sep. 20, 2023 — Fathers can give their children an educational advantage at primary school by reading, drawing and playing with them, according to a newly published ...

A Network That Spreads Light and the Role of Thalamus in Our Brain

Sep. 22, 2023 — New research using ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI, provides a better understanding of how light stimulates our brain and could provide new insights into how it ...

Why Are the Brain's Nerve Cells Organized Into Modules?

Sep. 20, 2023 — Scientists have revealed that the outer part of our brain (the cortex) is skilled at managing all the info it gets from the outside world thanks to special groups of nerve connections called modules, ...

Trigonelline Derived from Coffee Improves Cognitive Functions in Mice

Sep. 22, 2023 — Trigonelline is derived from coffee; researchers have found that it improves spatial learning and memory in senescence-accelerated mice. The study also suggested that this effect results from ...

Why Are You Better at Recognizing Upright Faces? Clues from a Person Who Sees the World Differently

Sep. 22, 2023 — When you see a familiar face upright, you'll recognize it right away. But if you saw that same face upside down, it's much harder to place. Now ...

Assessing Unintended Consequences in AI-Based Neurosurgical Training

Sep. 19, 2023 — A new study shows that human instruction is still necessary to detect and compensate for unintended, and sometimes negative, changes in neurosurgeon behavior after virtual reality AI training. This ...

Exposure to Plasticizers in Pregnancy Associated With Smaller Volumetric Measures in the Brain and Lower IQ in Children

Sep. 20, 2023 — A study with 775 mother-child pairs in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) finds an association with maternal exposure to certain plasticizers (phthalates) ...

Alternative Pain Control Circuits in the Brain Produce Relief Similar to Opioids Without the Downsides

Sep. 20, 2023 — New research has identified an alternative signaling pathway in the brain of mice that relieves pain, even in animals that have developed tolerance ...