Transient multidomain functional improvement in advanced Alzheimer's disease following high-dose psilocybin-containing mushroom administration: a case report.
Marcos Lago, Mariana Cerveira, Joe Xavier Simonet
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1813281 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Octogenarian Japanese-American woman with advanced Alzheimer's disease |
| Intervention | Psilocybin-containing mushrooms (Enigma strain) |
| Dose | 5 g |
| Topics | Neuroplasticity Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Alzheimer’s disease Advanced dementia Functional recovery |
| Citations | 1 |
| Post-publication review | 3 comments on PubPeer (opens in new tab) · last active June 2026 |
| Key findings | Transient multidomain functional improvements, including restored continence, ambulation, and spontaneous speech, occurred in a patient with advanced Alzheimer's disease following psilocybin administration. |
Abstract
Advanced Alzheimer's disease (AD) is generally regarded as a stage of irreversible functional decline. Psilocybin is known to transiently alter large-scale brain network dynamics and to induce plasticity-related mechanisms in preclinical models, yet clinical data in advanced dementia remain lacking. We report the case of an octogenarian Japanese-American woman with a 10-year history of Alzheimer's disease, including 5 years of marked hypofunction and predominantly monosyllabic speech. Baseline features included chronic urinary incontinence, executive dysfunction, dysphagia, dependent mobility, flat affect, and severe reduction in spontaneous communication. The patient received 5 g of orally administered psilocybin-containing mushrooms (Enigma strain). The acute phase was marked by autonomic activation, clinically suspected hyperthermia, profuse sweating, and a prolonged deep sleep-like state. Approximately 19 h post-administration, spontaneous autobiographical speech emerged. Over subsequent days and weeks, functional improvements included restoration of urinary continence, improved ambulation, autonomous dressing, increased emotional responsiveness, sustained social interaction, contextual memory retrieval, preserved working memory for social context, and spontaneous conversational engagement. This case documents transient multidomain functional improvement in advanced Alzheimer's disease following psilocybin administration. The findings do not imply disease reversal but suggest that residual functional capacity may persist in late-stage neurodegeneration and may become transiently accessible under specific neuromodulatory conditions.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin Mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) Intoxication with Myocardial Infarction 18-year-old man | 1998 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Relief from intractable phantom pain by combining psilocybin and mirror visual-feedback (MVF) Person with leg amputation and phantom-limb pain | 2018 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication | 2005 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series Individuals with chronic neuropathic pain | 2022 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Psilocybin and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | 2014 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity Cell Reports June 1, 2018
- Psilocybin desynchronizes the human brain. Nature August 1, 2024
- Psilocybin-induced changes in brain network integrity and segregation correlate with plasma psilocin level and psychedelic experience. European Neuropsychopharmacology September 1, 2021
- Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience August 21, 2020
and 3 more in the library