Excerpt: Magic mushrooms are undergoing a transformation from illicit recreational drug to promising mental health treatment. Numerous studies have reported positive findings using psilocybin—the mushrooms’ main psychoactive compound—for treating depression as well as smoking and alcohol addiction, and for reducing anxiety in the terminally ill. Ongoing and planned studies are testing the drug for conditions that include opioid dependence, PTSD and anorexia nervosa. Article Link: Scientific American Date: November 4,

Many people who take psychedelic drugs like shrooms or LSD describe one aspect of the experience as a “compromised self of ‘self,’” or a breaking down of the familiar feeling of a boundary between yourself and the universe. It can be a moment of profound breakthrough, or a horrible experience — a “bad trip” — that turns you off the substance forever. Now, neuroscientists from the Netherlands’ Maastricht University think they’ve uncovered