Effects of Psilocybin/psilocin Mushrooms on the Nervous System

Psilocybin/Psilocin Mushrooms

Since psychoactive substances are known to effect the way brain neurons process information, neuropsychology has made some headway into understanding the chemistry of the brain and the actual way in which psychoactive substances work. We now know something about how common psychoactive substances like tea, coffee, nicotine, Psilocybin and alcohol interact with the brain's neuronal architecture to cause their desired psychological effects of stimulation or stupor.

Effects on Behavior

Both psilocybin and psyilocin produce yawning, inability to concentrate, restlessness, increased heart rate, and hallucinations (visual and auditory). These symptoms may appear 30 to 60 minutes after the mushroom is eaten and can last about four hours.

Bit about the brain:

Structurally, the neuron has 4 main components; dendrites, the soma or cell body, the axon, and terminal fibers..

Imagine a big tree suspended in mid-air. This tree has a dense network of roots which join on to a bulbous lower trunk. Above this fat lower trunk is a long thin upper trunk which ends with a wispy network of branches. In this pictured analogy of the neuron or nerve cell, the roots of the tree are the dendrites, the lower bulbous trunk is the soma, the long upper trunk is the axon, and the topmost branches are the terminal fibres. This is the essential structure of the neuron with its four distinct components, and all of the brain's 13 billion neurons are basically made in this kind of way.

What is more, the actual mechanism in which neurons relay their electrochemically mediated information to one another is the very place where psychoactive substances like psilocybin and your morning cup of caffeine-enriched coffee are believed to operate. To be more precise, the synapse is where its all at

Effects on the Nervous System

The chemical structure of psilocybin and psilocin is similar to the neurotransmitter called serotonin. A neurotransmitter transmits nerve impulses across a synapse which is the junction between two nerve cells (axon-to-dendrite) or between a nerve cell and a muscle. In fact, the primary effect of psilocin is on the receptors for serotonin. There is also evidence that psilocybin reduces the re-uptake of serotonin