Psilocybin Might Make Your Brain Live in the Moment

裸盖菇素或许能让你的大脑活在当下

Under the influence of psychedelics, the usual organization of the human brain loosens. That’s what scientists have generally thought, with several studies showing that when we take these substances, the signals pinging between our neurons become more diverse and unpredictable. This increased entropy in our gray matter may underlie the strange, random, and often memorable experiences of psychedelic trips. 在迷幻剂的影响下，人脑通常的组织结构会变得松散。科学家们普遍持这一观点，多项研究表明，当我们摄入这些物质时，神经元之间传递的信号会变得更加多样且不可预测。灰质中这种熵值的增加，或许正是迷幻体验中那些奇特、随机且往往令人难忘的经历背后的原因。

But in one of the largest neuroimaging studies on the effects of psilocybin to date, researchers uncovered a hidden order in the apparent chaos. The study, published in Nature, indicates that while psilocybin blurs some of the boundaries within the brain, our neurological reactions to what we’re experiencing in that moment become even more distinct. 然而，在迄今为止关于裸盖菇素（psilocybin）影响的最大规模神经影像学研究之一中，研究人员在看似混乱的现象中发现了一种隐藏的秩序。这项发表在《自然》（Nature）杂志上的研究表明，虽然裸盖菇素模糊了大脑内部的一些界限，但我们对当下所经历事物的神经反应反而变得更加清晰。

The researchers tracked moment-by-moment changes across 332 regions of the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography, two methods of measuring brain activity. The 62 participants, who had no prior experience with psychedelics, took 19 milligrams of psilocybin in an oral capsule and then meditated, listened to music, or watched a movie. 研究人员利用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）和脑电图（EEG）这两种测量大脑活动的方法，追踪了大脑 332 个区域的实时变化。62 名此前没有迷幻剂使用经验的参与者口服了 19 毫克裸盖菇素胶囊，随后进行了冥想、听音乐或观看电影。

With the help of artificial intelligence, the researchers identified patterns in the brain for each kind of activity the participants were engaged in. But surprisingly, the more intense the psilocybin experience, the clearer those neural signals were. Rather than becoming lost in the midst of an increasingly unpredictable trip, reality seemed to be leaving a more distinct imprint. 在人工智能的帮助下，研究人员识别出了参与者在进行每种活动时的大脑模式。但令人惊讶的是，裸盖菇素带来的体验越强烈，这些神经信号就越清晰。现实似乎并没有在日益不可预测的迷幻之旅中迷失，反而留下了更鲜明的印记。

These findings weren’t just apparent in the biological measurements but also in participants’ personal experiences. Those who exhibited the most defined patterns of brain activity also tended to describe more intense experiences of immersion and unity with the world around them, the boundaries between themselves and the environment sometimes feeling blurred. 这些发现不仅体现在生物学测量数据中，也体现在参与者的个人体验中。那些表现出最明确大脑活动模式的人，往往也描述了更强烈的沉浸感以及与周围世界融为一体的体验，有时甚至会感到自我与环境之间的界限变得模糊。

“Under psilocybin, brain networks that help us process our inner world and the world around us became less distinct, but reorganized into patterns that reflected what people were experiencing,” explained Devon Stoliker, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences in Melbourne, Australia. “在裸盖菇素的作用下，帮助我们处理内心世界和周围世界的大脑网络变得不再那么界限分明，而是重组成了反映人们当下体验的模式，”该研究的主要作者、澳大利亚墨尔本莫纳什大学心理科学学院的研究员德文·斯托利克（Devon Stoliker）解释道。

In addition to providing a biological explanation for the sense of oneness that many people describe during a psychedelic trip, the findings also provide nuance to the idea that psilocybin simply makes the brain “chaotic.” This understanding is especially important in the emerging field of psychedelic therapy. 除了为许多人在迷幻之旅中描述的“合一感”提供生物学解释外，这些发现还修正了“裸盖菇素只会让大脑变得混乱”这一观点。这种理解对于新兴的迷幻疗法领域尤为重要。

“This shows that context is not just background to the psychedelic experience,” Adeel Razi, a professor at Monash and the senior author of the study, emphasized in a press release. “For treatment, that reinforces why the environment and what a person does and experiences during the psychedelic session matter.” “这表明，环境背景不仅仅是迷幻体验的陪衬，”莫纳什大学教授、该研究的资深作者阿迪尔·拉齐（Adeel Razi）在新闻稿中强调，“对于治疗而言，这进一步证实了为什么在迷幻治疗过程中，环境以及个人的行为和体验至关重要。”