Psilocybin therapy boosts cognitive and neural flexibility in depressed patients, study finds

Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy appears to increase both cognitive and neural flexibility in patients with major depressive disorder, according to new research published in Translational Psychiatry. But the findings suggest that psychedelic-induced increases in neural flexibility do not always result in cognitive improvements.

Psilocybin — the active component in so-called “magic” mushrooms — has been shown to have long-lasting and clinically significant effects on personality and mood when combined with psychotherapy. But the mechanisms behind these effects remain unclear. Researchers have proposed that psilocybin’s antidepressant effects might be the result of changes in neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to change structurally and functionally.

The authors of the current study were interested in examining psilocybin’s effects on two concepts related to neuroplasticity: cognitive flexibility (the ability to adaptively switch between mental processes) and neural flexibility (variability in brain activity and connectivity.)
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