The profound impact of LSD on the brain has been laid bare by the first modern scans of people high on the drug.

The images, taken from volunteers who agreed to take a trip in the name of science, have given researchers an unprecedented insight into the neural basis for effects produced by one of the most powerful drugs ever created.

A dose of the psychedelic substance – injected rather than dropped – unleashed a wave of changes that altered activity and connectivity across the brain. This has led scientists to new theories of visual hallucinations and the sense of oneness with the universe some users report.

The brain scans revealed that trippers experienced images through information drawn from many parts of their brains, and not just the visual cortex at the back of the head that normally processes visual information. Under the drug, regions once segregated spoke to one another.

Further images showed that other brain regions that usually form a network became more separated in a change that accompanied users’ feelings of oneness with the world, a loss of personal identity called “ego dissolution”.

David Nutt, the government’s former drugs advisor, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, and senior researcher on the study, said neuroscientists had waited 50 years for this moment. “This is to neuroscience what the Higgs boson was to particle physics,” he said. “We didn’t know how these profound effects were produced. It was too difficult to do. Scientists were either scared or couldn’t be bothered to overcome the enormous hurdles to get this done.”

…..The drug can be seen as reversing the more restricted thinking we develop from infancy to adulthood, said Nutt, whose study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study could pave the way for LSD or related chemicals to be used to treat psychiatric disorders. Nutt said the drug could pull the brain out of thought patterns seen in depression and addiction through its effects on brain networks.

Amanda Feilding, director of the Beckley Foundation, said: “We are finally unveiling the brain mechanisms underlying the potential of LSD, not only to heal, but also to deepen our understanding of consciousness itself.”

Full report: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/11/lsd-impact-brain-revealed-groundbreaking-images

where’s the Grateful Dead’s sound man

Bubblecar said:

David Nutt, the government’s former drugs advisor, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, and senior researcher on the study,

And yet some people still scoff at the theory of nominative determinism.

Wouldn’t mind a try of LSD one day. There’s probably all sorts of interesting fun you can have with your brain that most people will never experience, on account of killjoys.

• Wouldn’t mind a try of LSD one day.

Don’t take the brown acid…

“Hey look, computer says Yes. Those freaks were right. Give me a jab and stick me in the machine. No, no, the BIG syringe.”

“No, fuck don’t worry about the plate in my head. Hit me!”

FAAAARRRR OUTTTTT…. WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…. SHAAKA DA HEAD AND RATTLE MA BRAIN…….!

Bubblecar said:

Wouldn’t mind a try of LSD one day. There’s probably all sorts of interesting fun you can have with your brain that most people will never experience, on account of killjoys.

Well I don’t know.

Are you sure that messing around with your brain is such a good idea/

if didn’t get me

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead
In their early days, soundman Owsley “Bear” Stanley designed a public address (PA) and monitor system for them. Bear was the Grateful Dead’s soundman for many years; he was also one of the largest suppliers of LSD.

It takes a strong mind..

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bubblecar said:

Wouldn’t mind a try of LSD one day. There’s probably all sorts of interesting fun you can have with your brain that most people will never experience, on account of killjoys.

Well I don’t know.

Are you sure that messing around with your brain is such a good idea/

I try to mess with Boris’s all the time.

Am I evil?

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bubblecar said:

Wouldn’t mind a try of LSD one day. There’s probably all sorts of interesting fun you can have with your brain that most people will never experience, on account of killjoys.

Well I don’t know.

Are you sure that messing around with your brain is such a good idea/

Listen mister, I want my brain lit up like a nuclear bomb and plugged into the whole entire multiverse, at least for one evening, some time.

And then I’ll be able to say: “Been there, done that, but the T-shirt didn’t make it through the portal.”

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

I know miles of peeps who were fine post LSG.

You can go too far of course. Guitarist mate popped about 20 tickets one night after a gig as a dare.

Don’t eat powerful hallucinogens like rice bubbles is the lesson.

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

I can’t believe that is a thing.

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

wait for the onset of child and family neglect as millions get caught up in the cycle of addiction

AwesomeO said:

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

I can’t believe that is a thing.

It probably isn’t, then.

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think it’s a bit too high on the psychedelic mind-altering scale for the kids of today…

they just want drugs that make their body tingle and keep them awake for a long time

AwesomeO said:

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

I can’t believe that is a thing.

no… recreational drugs are totally a real thing…

Arts said:

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

wait for the onset of child and family neglect as millions get caught up in the cycle of addiction

Billy: wait, there was a colouring addiction epidemic?
Grandpa: It was terrible Billy, there were textas and pencil shavings everywhere

dv said:

AwesomeO said:

I don’t know why it is not still popular, cheap to make, non addictive and I thought relatively safe.

I think that the advent of adult colouring books has largely removed the need for recreational drugs.

What do you know of the authors mind games?