What your brain looks like on magic mushrooms The researchers created a graphic which mapped connections between neural networks. When brains are functioning without stimulation there is little cross-linking between networks, however when neural networks are under the influence of magic mushrooms, it appears that a new type of order emerges. Parts of the brain that have never connected, suddenly join together. It could explain why people who are high on magic mushrooms or other powerful psychedelic drugs, experiences intense experiences of colour, sound and taste. "We can speculate on the implications of such an organization," wrote the researchers, who were led by neurobiologist Paul Expert of King's College London. One possible by-product of this greater communication across the whole brain is the phenomenon of synaesthesia - the experience, common during psychedelic experiences, of sensory mix-up: tasting colours, feeling sounds, seeing smells, and so on. Psilocybin is the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," and classified as an illegal Class A drug in the UK. Magic mushrooms The drug has mind-altering effects that can include the enhancement of colours and visual hallucinations. Recent studies have suggested that magic mushrooms could be used to treat depression. Prof David Nutt, of Imperial College London, claims that a dose of the key psychedelic ingredient in the fungi, equivalent to five magic mushrooms, can switch off parts of the brain involved in depression. In a small-scale study by his team, volunteers reported that their mood improved for up to two weeks after being injected with the drug. Prof Nutt, who is president of the British Neuroscience Association and a former government adviser on drug misuse, has been given £500,000 of funding to conduct the first clinical trial with a purified form of the illegal drug. He said that the trial, which will involve 60 patients, would use a synthetically manufactured form of psilocybin. About one in 10 people in Britain suffers from depression each year, but at least 10 per cent of them fail to respond to treatment. The new graphic suggests that magic mushrooms may help depression by rewiring certain parts of the brain, or making new positive connections. A separate study found the drug psilocybin, improved mood and reduced anxiety in the caner patients for up to six months. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society Interface.