Synthesis Institute

Why do people often describe a single psychedelic experience as one of the most meaningful of their lives?

Researchers are starting to find neurological answers. Brain activity becomes dramatically more complex during a psilocybin session. Networks that normally define how we think about ourselves temporarily lose their rigid structure. And the degree to which all of this happens appears to predict — weeks later — how much someone's thinking becomes more flexible, and how much their sense of well-being improves.

Swipe through for the research breakdown.

What aspect of this research are you most curious about?

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Sources:
Lyons, T., Spriggs, M., Kerkelä, L. et al. Human brain changes after first psilocybin use. Nat Commun 17, 3977 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71962-3

Siegel, J.S., Subramanian, S., Perry, D. et al. Psilocybin desynchronizes the human brain. Nature 632, 131–138 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07624-5

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