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Meditation and psychedelic drugs are both being investigated as potential treatments for improving mental health, but what happens when the two are combined? To find out, scientists invited a group of meditators to take psilocybin, the active component of magic mushrooms. Their self-reported experiences 鈥� and brain scans 鈥� hint that such a combined approach leads to stronger effects.

Mindfulness meditation, a set of techniques designed to increase people鈥檚 attentiveness and acceptance of the present moment, is thought to have some聽beneficial effects on health, including possibly protecting against depression and anxiety.

Psychotherapy accompanied by psychedelics are also being investigated as a possible treatment for depression and for anxiety in people with terminal illness.

Mindfulness retreat

The mental states induced by meditation and psychedelics share some similarities, like altered perception of time and self-awareness, and previous neuroimaging studies have revealed some overlap in the patterns of brain activity they stimulate. But the effects of combining the two has never been studied with brain imaging before.

A group of 38 healthy volunteers took part in a five-day mindfulness retreat in Switzerland, and had their brains scanned before and afterwards. They meditated for 10 hours a day, and on the fourth day, half were given a capsule of psilocybin. The rest took a placebo.

Those who took psilocybin reported greater feelings of 鈥渂oundlessness鈥� 鈥� a loss of ego boundaries associated with feelings of bliss, serenity and oneness.

The brain scans showed that these boundless feelings were linked to disruption of the default mode network, a set of brain regions that normally work together and may contribute to our sense of self. In the psilocybin group, and particularly in those who reported the strongest subjective effects, these regions were not as synchronous after the retreat.

When they were followed up four months later, the psilocybin group had experienced long-lasting positive effects on their well-being, such as improved mood and more positive attitudes to themselves.

The results back up the idea that our sense of self is actively constructed in the brain, and can be modulated by mental training or drugs, says Lukasz Smigielski at the University of Zurich, who led the study. Connections between hubs in the default mode network appear to be a crucial element in creating this sense of self.

Special psychological zone

Since psychiatrists began experimenting with psychedelics in the 1950s, they have understood that the drug experience is influenced to a large extent on the setting where it is taken: a calm, natural environment will lead to a different outcome than a music festival, for example.

Smigielski says a meditation retreat may support a positive psychedelic experience by providing a comforting setting and offering a framework for interpreting the drug experience. 鈥淢editation may be a special psychological zone for making meaningful psychedelic experiences,鈥� he says.

If meditation centres are to start offering psychedelic-enhanced mindfulness retreats, Denver, Colorado could be the first place for it to happen legally. Earlier this month, the city became the first US jurisdiction to vote to decriminalise psychedelic mushrooms.