The Huberman Lab Podcast: Mushrooms For Brain Health

If you’re here reading this.. there must be a reason.

Probably you’re Huberman Lab’s fan and willing to read what he talks about in his famous Huberman Lab podcast, or you felt attracted by mushrooms for brain health, wondering, “Mushroom for brain health? Really?”

Well, we’re here to shed light on both!

The Huberman Lab podcast shares the scientific point of view of the therapeutic power of psilocybin with a deeper insight into how mushrooms can be great for brain health.

Through these words, we aim to summarize what the Huberman Lab podcast shares, as well as shedding light on how mushrooms for brain health can be therapeutic, life-changing and healing.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into the fungi world and/or starting your psilocybin journey, we also invite you to become part of our PMA (private membership association), an incredible membership that gives you the opportunity to become part of a like-minded community of people who are on your same transformative journey, while also giving you benefits, guidance, and access to medicine.

Now, let’s talk about the Huberman Lab podcast…

The Huberman Lab’s podcast starts with an explanation of what psilocybin is:

Psilocybin is a psychedelic.

To understand the power of psilocybin, we need to understand the significance of the word ‘psychedelic’.

In fact, psychedelic means something that modifies the psyche and changes the level of consciousness.

The effect of psychedelics is special as it will stay even after intake and not only while taking them.

How can psychedelics be so therapeutic?

Psilocybin, as well as other psychedelics, help in so many ways.

There are several scientific and medical studies that have tested psilocybin and affirmed that mushrooms for brain health can be absolutely therapeutic.

In fact, psilocybin can:

• Help heal from anxiety
• Allow coping with depression
• Support with addiction (ex. alcohol or tobacco abuse)
  & more!

Mushrooms for brain health? How?

Yes, many psychedelics can help in several therapeutic ways, but let’s focus on psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms.

Mushrooms for brain health can be used in therapeutic ways because of their serotonin receptors.

Psilocybin allows neuroplasticity to occur – which controls the change of memory or perception.

The Huberman Lab podcast shares a lot of scientific insight on how psilocybin can basically be considered a serotonin, since the main effect of psilocybin is to remake serotonin in a very specific way, which, therefore, activates neuroplasticity.

This is why psilocybin has been tested for therapeutic purposes and has been found to be incredibly effective.

The most wonderful aspect is that the most transformational changes that occur through psilocybin intake take place AFTER the therapy.

Why is psilocybin so powerful when it comes to rewiring the brain?

1. Psilocybin is a tryptamine.
2. Tryptamine itself resembles serotonin.
3. Serotonin is a neuromodulator, (which is what changes the activity of other neurons.)
4. Psilocybin and psilocin are structurally very similar to serotonin itself.

What does serotonin do?

Serotonin changes the activity of other neurons (which rule the senses of satiety, pleasure and motivation)

So, why does serotonin resemble psilocybin?

Because psilocybin is a molecule that stimulates and combines serotonin 2A receptor

Where are serotonin 2A receptors located?

Serotonin 2A receptors are expressed in various parts of the body, including the brain.

In the brain, they can be found in various locations, including the cortex – which is mostly involved in understanding context and switching context.

The cortex is also associated with perceptions – healing, sounds, and visuals.

This is why we often associate magic mushrooms with hallucinating trips and why psilocybin therapies can give profound visual hallucinations, no matter if the eyes are open or closed…

Psilocybin stimulates the visual cortex.

Because of this scientific data, the Huberman Lab podcast shares a very interesting insight:

Many times, when we think of a magic mushroom trip or of why the use of mushrooms for brain health can be so powerful, we often think of experiencing hallucinations in the outside world.

Though, when the eyes are opened, the psilocybin trip is limited to what the visual environment is able to give…

Everything around might start melting, turning into geometrical shapes…

But it’s when the eyes are closed that the long long lasting effects occur.

When psilocybin is experienced with closed eyes there is no limit to the extent to which one is focused on the outside to go inward into the deepest thoughts – which is the critical feature to making the psilocybin journey effectively therapeutic.

When the eyes are closed, there is no limit.

Through the stimulation of the magic of psilocybin, it will be possible to experience the limitlessness of the mind.

This is also why it is absolutely necessary to be guided when experiencing a therapeutic psilocybin journey.

In order to experience mushrooms for brain health, the psilocybin journey must occur under certain circumstances

Mushrooms for brain health are life-changing only when taken in a certain way.

In fact, a therapeutic psilocybin journey must be taken under some important circumstances:

• It is not for everyone!
  (It is highly not recommended if you are psychotic, bipolar or schizophrenic)
• It is recommended to be taken from people between 25 to 70 years of age
  (no one under, as the brain needs to be fully developed)
• It needs to be taken in a proper clinical setting under guidance
  (as everyone might react in different ways according to their personal experience)
• It has to be taken in a safe dose
  (Microdosed or heroic dose – depending on the patient)

What makes a therapeutic journey effective?

In order to experience an effective therapeutic journey with psilocybin you must take into consideration various components (which have been clinically tried and demonstrated):

1. Do not take antidepressants
   (not the same day, nor during the weeks upcoming – it can be very dangerous)
2. The set and the setting
   (this is important to avoid the so-called bad trip to happen)

The set refers to the place where the patient will take the mushroom.

The setting refers to the people who create and make the space feel good for your journey.

The set and setting must be:

• Safe (no streets, no windows, no opportunity to get lost or hurt)
• Filled with present people who are NOT under psilocybin
• Guided by experts who can listen, talk and guide you along the journey
• Present with music

What happens during a therapeutic journey?

The duration of the trip always depends on the amount of psilocybin taken.

Usually, a psilocybin journey is divided in:

• The first 30 minutes
• The peak
• The returning

The first 30 minutes allow you to slowly get into the medicine.

Then comes the peak, filled with anxiety – this is what people are usually afraid of, but this is exactly what allows mushrooms for brain health to take place.

It is through the peak that we experience ego-dissolution, spirituality, and transformation.

The music plays an important role throughout the journey:

• It usually starts with classical, lower, music (it allows to relax and get into the vibe)
• It transitions to a higher volume and a more intense tune (during the peak of the trip)
• It continues with sofer music, often female voices (calming, mothering sounds)
• It ends with nature sounds that mimic the outside natural world (to allow the oneness and interconnectedness to take place)

Psilocybin Increases Communication Across The Brain

When psilocybin is present in the system, there is a broadlin of information flowing in the brain.

Why?

Because neurons are communicating with other types of neurons, increasing communication, as well as sensory information, across the brain.
(For example – sounds and smells are more enhanced, as well as the breath and the sense of what is happening inside one’s body).

Psilocybin expands the functional connectivity of the brain, not only during the mushroom trip, but also after – forever extending parts of the brain that normally are not so active.

This is why psilocybin is so powerful, and this is why the use of mushrooms for brain health is becoming more and more popular.

“Rewiring your brain is not the goal.
Adaptive rewiring of the brain is the goal.” – it’s mentioned in the Huberman Lab podcast.

Can Psilocybin Help Increase Creativity?

In the Huberman Lab podcast, Huberman Lab shares that a common question that arises when thinking of psilocybin is “Does it increase creativity?”

It is pretty well known that magic mushrooms for brain health have been tested to work when treating depression, addiction, anxiety… but what about increasing creativity?

The answer is YES! Psilocybin helps increase creativity, even though there is not so much scientific research (yet!).

When taken with the correct protocols, the increase in connectivity that psilocybin causes, leads to a positive and adaptive rewiring of the brain, activating different brain areas than can lead to an increase in inspiration and creativity.

The studies on changes on emotionality in responses to music provide a template to creativity too – during the psilocybin journey people have the opportunity to learn new relationships between different sensories and emotional states which seems to persist after.

Key and Stereotypes of Psilocybin:

Letting go

Ego dissolution

Connectedness…

These might all be words that you hear in and after the psilocybin session

Together with “most life-changing, best time ever”

And with “Bad trip” too…

In the Huberman Lab podcast it is shared how there are statistics and numbers that allow studies and conclusions for the effectiveness of psilocybin.

In the studies, it appears that almost all of the people who experience a psilocybin trip, experience a so-called oceanic boundlessness.

In the Huberman Lab podcast it is shared how there are statistics and numbers that allow studies and conclusions for the effectiveness of psilocybin.

In the studies, it appears that almost all of the people who experience a psilocybin trip, experience a so-called oceanic boundlessness.

What is oceanic boundlessness?

An oceanic boundlessness is the experience of something extremely unusual, mystical, or massively connected.

The mystical experience seems to be positively correlated with the cure of depression.

It’s during the peak of the trip that people feel oceanic boundlessness but also increase blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, fear and… ego dissolution. (This is why guides are so essential for the safety of the trip).

It’s during the peak that ego-dissolution and letting go can happen.

Throughout the studies, it appears that feelings of unity, bliss, spirituality, insights, disembodiedness, and anxiety are mostly common, although experienced in different ways.

The ability to move through the anxiety, to handle the discomfort, and to go through and let go during the peak is the key point for a successful therapeutic session – it’s through crossing the darkness that people see the light.

Anxiety during the peak seems to be positively correlated with a successful therapeutic session.

Though, it’s extremely important that the dosage is proper and that the guides and the space are able to create a safe and positive environment to go through it all.

Also, it is important to have a tool to adjust and incorporate what happens during the psilocybin trip (Like breathing techniques that help when heart rates start increasing or anxiety arises).

The Predominant Theory of the Success of Psilocybin is:

Psilocybin induces neuroplasticity through the addition of novel connections in those pyramidal neurons of the frontal cortex (also the cortex, visual cortex, and others), and those neuroplasticity events are structural and functional.

Very Recent Clinical Study Results

The Huberman Lab podcast ends with sharing some effective results of the recent clinical studies, which include 1 or 2 psilocybin sessions with the exploration of different dosages ranging from 1mg to 30mg of psilocybin, mostly given once.

Through these studies, it is clinically shown that people who suffer from depression feel way better after three weeks of the session.

Though, during these clinical studies, adverse events (such as headaches or anxiety) are also explored.

Yes, people do experience them, but the highest rate is experienced when given the 25mg dose – which allows greater relief but a greater chance of adverse events too.

The importance of integrating what is learned during psilocybin therapy is also key.

Combining psilocybin therapy with supporting psychotherapy, like talk therapy, is more effective than either of them alone, and it is highly recommended.

Are You Willing To Explore Mushrooms for Brain Health?

Whether you suffer from depression, anxiety, addiction… or you are totally healthy…

We hope these words and the Huberman Lab podcast helped you dig deeper into the scientific power of psilocybin and the incredible results that mushrooms for brain health can have.

We invite you to become part of our PMA (private membership association), check out our medicine and read more scientific and soulful words on the incredible power of this plant medicine.