Weekly Roundup: Psychedelic Hyper Connectivity in Your Brain, Altered States of Consciousness are Common, and Whether Mental Health Issues are Infectious

This was first published on my substack

I don’t do psychedelics, never have, and somehow don’t have an urge either. But nevertheless I do find some of the research fascinating and it is also clear that there can be many therapeutic benefits.

So this week I will report on some new research into psychedelics but also altered states of consciousness in the general population — and sticking with the theme of mental states and health — another new piece on how mental health issues seem to spread though social networks.

Psychedelic Hyperconnectivity in Your Brain

Well, the title sounds impressive, the hyperconnectivity bit, — Sepehr Mortaheb et al. of the Universities of Liege in Belgium and Maastricht in the Netherlands have investigated the impacts of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) on dynamic brain connectivity and subjective experience, through a brain scanning study.

What sounds even more impressive is the language used in the press release:

“A new study shows that the use of psilocybin, a compound found in the widely known ‘magic…