Magic mushrooms could help treat people with insecurities about their appearance.
Magic mushrooms can help people who are concerned about their appearance
Experts in the US have revealed that a naturally occurring psychedelic drug in the fungi changes brain connectivity to help treat body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) - a mental health condition that causes sufferers to obsess over how they look.
A team at Columbia University in New York found out that just a single dose of magic mushrooms transforms brain connectivity to alleviate symptoms of the illness after conducting a trial on eight adults with moderate-to-severe BDD.
Study leader Chen Zhang said: "The findings align with a growing body of evidence indicating that psychedelic compounds like psilocybin can promote mental health by enhancing the brain's capacity for flexibility and integration.
"By facilitating communication within and between brain networks that are often dysregulated in psychiatric disorders, psilocybin can restore adaptive cognitive and emotional functioning."