Psilocybin Helped People With This Common, Overlooked Mental Health Disorder

Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, continues to enjoy a moment in the sun in clinical research. Previous studies have already suggested that the substance may help combat depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, novel research suggests it might help with yet another common psychological disorder.

A new paper published today in the journal Psychedelics demonstrates how psilocybin can effectively treat body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental health condition in which someone’s preoccupation with their physical appearance may be so overwhelming that it infringes on their ability to function. Conducted by researchers in the U.S., Canada, and Sweden, this study further reinforces how psilocybin can be useful in treating mental health disorders. This is the first study to report changes in the brain after psilocybin administration in patients with BDD. This research was also supported by a grant from Compass Pathways PLC, a U.K.-based biotechnology company that also provided the psilocybin capsules for this study.

The study was small, with just eight participants between the ages of 18 and 55. All of them had a history of diagnosed BDD as well as nonresponse or intolerance to various standards of treatment like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors for at least two months. Each received a single, 25-milligram dose of psilocybin in capsule form. The team, led by researchers at Columbia University, performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) one day before and after psilocybin administration.

The researchers found that after just one dose, the patients’ brains displayed increased connectivity between regions. Specifically, the researchers saw increased activity between areas involved in governing executive functions and those for emotional stimuli. Furthermore, patients with the greatest neural strengthening between brain areas also displayed the most improvement in BDD symptoms a week after dosing.

However, this study has major limitations. In addition to its small size, it also lacked a control group — a problem for most psychedelic studies to date — with which to compare the experimental group taking psilocybin.

Still, this is a promising start for yet another clinical application for psilocybin. The researchers believe that the drug’s affinity for affecting brain connectivity and executive function may impact thought rigidity and rumination, which can mark BDD. With more research, we might be able to add BDD to the growing list of mental illnesses psilocybin can abate.