Magic mushroom compound psilocybin grows new brain connections within 24 hours and repairs circuits damaged by chronic stress in mice. Scientists found the brain rewiring runs on a different pathway than the trip itself, opening the door to fast-acting depression drugs without the hallucinations.

A mouse study at UC Santa Cruz found that psilocybin accelerates the formation and maturation of new dendritic spines within 24 hours and enhances circuit repair in brains damaged by chronic stress. Yi Zuo's team showed that 5-HT2A receptor signaling in layer 5 pyramidal neurons is necessary and sufficient for synaptic remodeling but not required for the head-twitch response, a proxy for hallucinatory behavior, suggesting neuroplastic and hallucinogenic effects can be separated into distinct cellular pathways.