Current Biology
December 9, 2025
Sarah G. Cook, Stephanie J. Lee, Emma Ference et al.
3 citations
Following decades of prohibition, psychedelic drugs have reemerged as promising therapeutics for stress-related conditions, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, their impact on stress-related brain regions and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis remains unclear. This work explores the acute effects of psilocybin on the primary regulators of the HPA axis:...
Current Biology
June 1, 2025
Jason C. Slot, Dirk Hoffmeister
2 citations
Several species of fungi, collectively known as 'psychedelic fungi', produce a range of psychoactive substances, such as psilocybin, ibotenic acid, muscimol and lysergic acid amides. These substances interact with neurotransmitter receptors in the human brain to induce profound psychological effects. These substances are found across multiple fungal phyla, in the mushroom-forming genera...
Current Biology
December 1, 2023
Nicholas Kolbman, Tiecheng Liu, Peter R. Guzzo et al.
21 citations
There is a renewed interest in psychedelic drugs as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In particular, psilocybin has shown promise for the treatment of refractory depression1 and major depressive disorder2, and has also been explored as a treatment for tobacco and alcohol abuse3,4. However, despite suggestive evidence5,6, there has been no systematic study...
Current Biology
December 1, 2023
Alistair R. Mctaggart, Stephen Mclaughlin, Jason C. Slot et al.
6 citations
Fungi that are edible or fermentative were domesticated through selective cultivation of their desired traits. Domestication is often associated with inbreeding or selfing, which may fix traits other than those under selection, and causes an overall decrease in heterozygosity. A hallucinogenic mushroom, Psilocybe cubensis, was domesticated from its niche in livestock dung for production of...
Current Biology
August 1, 2023
Joseph E LeDoux, Jonathan Birch, Kristin Andrews et al.
There is growing interest in the relationship been AI and consciousness. Joseph LeDoux and Jonathan Birch thought it would be a good moment to put some of the big questions in this area to some leading experts. The challenge of addressing the questions they raised was taken up by Kristin Andrews, Nicky Clayton, Nathaniel Daw, Chris Frith, Hakwan Lau, Megan Peters, Susan Schneider, Anil Seth,...
Current Biology
July 1, 2018
J. Knotts, Brian Odegaard, Hakwan Lau
Key theories of consciousness predict that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays important roles, but there has been relatively little causal evidence showing that manipulation of activity in the region can broadly affect conscious experiences. A new study provides crucial findings to help resolve this issue, showing that direct pharmacological stimulation of PFC restores wakefulness in...
Current Biology
February 20, 2016
Raphael Kaplan, Mohit H. Adhikari, Rikkert Hindriks et al.
127 citations
The default mode network (DMN) is a commonly observed resting-state network (RSN) that includes medial temporal, parietal, and prefrontal regions involved in episodic memory [1-3]. The behavioral relevance of endogenous DMN activity remains elusive, despite an emerging literature correlating resting fMRI fluctuations with memory performance [4, 5]-particularly in DMN regions [6-8]. Mechanistic...
Current Biology
June 1, 2005
Olivia Carter, David E. Presti, C. Callistemon et al.
262 citations
Neuroscientific studies of the mind are likely to benefit from the insights and skills of Tibetan Buddhist monks who have practiced the historic tradition of meditative training over many years — a point made recently at a forum between a selection of Buddhist leaders and distinguished scientists [1Barinaga M. Buddhism and neuroscience. Studying the well-trained mind.Science. 2003; 302:...