Neural connections are like the streets of a city: when trauma damages these communication pathways, the entire system suffers. What if there was a way to repair these connections, or even improve them? Therapeutic mushrooms may be the answer neuroscientists have been searching for decades.
A preliminary research of the Northeastern University revealed that the psilocybin, the active ingredient present in some mushrooms, not only repairs brain connections damaged by repeated trauma, but it even creates a “hyperconnected” brain. A potential that could change the fate of millions of people, from professional athletes to seniors at risk of dementia.
From Brain Traumas to “Repaired” Connections
The researchers conducted an illuminating experiment. They subjected sixteen adult female rats to what they call a “head-blow, ice-pack” injury (mild but repeated trauma for three consecutive days), without anesthesia. The protocol was designed to mimic the types of trauma that commonly affect athletes, military personnel, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence.
The real breakthrough came next. Half an hour after each daily trauma, half of the rats received an injection of psilocybin. The results left scientists astonished.
“He’s done some really amazing things,” says psychologist Craig Ferris of Northeastern University. “We found that with head trauma… functional connections decrease throughout the brain. You give psilocybin and not only does it go back to normal, but the brain becomes hyperconnected.”
Brain scans revealed notable differences between the psilocybin-treated rats and those that did not receive the treatment. While the untreated rats showed few network connections to the thalamus and sensorimotor cortex, the treated rats had “very pronounced” connections that were more similar to those in uninjured rats.
psilocybin . Reduced connectivity in numerous brain regions from mild repetitive brain injury was reversed by psilocybin treatment. (Brengel et al., bioRxiv , 2025)
Therapeutic Mushrooms, Profound Effects Beyond “Connectivity”
It's not just about restoring connections. Psilocybin has been shown to significantly reduce brain swelling in treated rats, particularly in critical regions such as the hippocampus, somatosensory cortex, prefrontal cortex, thalamus, cerebellum, olfactory system, and basal ganglia.
Perhaps even more surprising was the discovery regarding the protein phosphorylated tau, a marker associated with dementia. The rats that had suffered trauma without psilocybin treatment showed a significant increase in this protein, while in treated rats the levels were significantly lower.
This suggests that the benefits of psilocybin may extend well beyond brain trauma, potentially to neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, Parkinson e chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
A bridge between laboratory and clinical application
The authors of the research, whose study has not yet been peer-reviewed, they believe they have created a translational model that “successfully bridges the laboratory to the bedside by replicating clinical observations and identifies psilocybin as a promising therapeutic agent for repetitive mild head injury and its neurodegenerative sequelae.”
If these results hold true in humans, the implications are enormous. The ability to prevent long-term brain damage through early intervention with psilocybin could radically change the way sports, military, and geriatric brain injuries are addressed.
The road to clinical application is still long, but these first results open up fascinating scenarios in which therapeutic mushrooms can become valuable allies in the battle against brain damage and neurodegenerative diseases.
