The study, known as PLASTICITY (Psychedelic Longitudinal Aging Study In Cognitively Healthy Older Adults), is the first psychedelic neuroimaging study specifically focused on older adults. The study will use MRI and other measures to investigate how psilocybin impacts memory, perception, emotion, and brain structure and function in healthy adults between the ages of 60 and 85.
The researchers will test whether psychedelics can enhance neuroplasticity in the brains of healthy older adults, help them regulate their emotions, feel more socially connected, and experience a sense of awe. Previous work has shown that psychedelics can reduce negative mental states like depression, anxiety, stress and rumination, and that these negative mental states may be linked with accelerated aging, said Tyler Toueg, a UC Berkeley doctoral student in neuroscience who co-led the project’s design.
Previous studies in non-human animals have shown that psilocybin increases the number of synaptic connections in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of the brain. If psilocybin has the same effect on the human brain, it could help counteract the structural brain changes associated with aging.
Share this article
