Psilocybin and Concussion: a Rat Result and a Treatment Gap

Concussions come with a treatment gap that is easy to state: there is no approved drug that repairs the underlying brain damage from them. That gap is why researchers keep looking at unconventional candidates, including psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms. The Conversation Canada reports a study finding that psilocybin shows a therapeutic effect for repeated mild head injury — in adult female rats. That qualifier is doing real work; a rodent result is a hypothesis, not a prescription. The rationale is not only the psychedelic experience. Research increasingly suggests psilocybin's biological actions extend beyond the profound changes in perception and consciousness it is best known for, which is where any repair mechanism would have to live.