A large neuroimaging study suggests psilocybin does not simply make brain activity chaotic: it may make the brain more strongly reflect whatever a person is experiencing at the time. This matters for psychedelic therapy, as it reinforces that the setting, activity and environment during a session could influence its effects.

Researchers studied 62 people with no previous psychedelic experience after they took 19 milligrams of psilocybin, while they meditated, listened to music or watched a film. Using fMRI, EEG and artificial intelligence to track activity across 332 brain regions, they found clearer activity patterns linked to each activity among people reporting more intense experiences; these participants also more often described immersion, unity and blurred boundaries between themselves and their surroundings.