Aug 10, 2025
What Science Is Saying About Psychedelics and the Nervous System
Emerging research continues to affirm what many indigenous traditions have known for centuries: psychedelics can support deep healing. One area gaining attention is the effect of psilocybin on the nervous system.
Studies suggest that psilocybin promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new pathways and release old patterns. For those carrying trauma, this means the possibility of shifting out of cycles of fear and hypervigilance into greater calm and presence.
In addition, psilocybin appears to reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN)—the part of the brain tied to rumination and self-criticism. This quieting effect often leads to a sense of spaciousness, connectedness, and relief.
While science provides the language of neurons and networks, those who journey therapeutically describe it more simply: feeling safe again, feeling connected again, feeling alive again. The nervous system, once locked in survival, begins to remember what peace feels like.
Emerging research continues to affirm what many indigenous traditions have known for centuries: psychedelics can support deep healing. One area gaining attention is the effect of psilocybin on the nervous system.
Studies suggest that psilocybin promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new pathways and release old patterns. For those carrying trauma, this means the possibility of shifting out of cycles of fear and hypervigilance into greater calm and presence.
In addition, psilocybin appears to reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN)—the part of the brain tied to rumination and self-criticism. This quieting effect often leads to a sense of spaciousness, connectedness, and relief.
While science provides the language of neurons and networks, those who journey therapeutically describe it more simply: feeling safe again, feeling connected again, feeling alive again. The nervous system, once locked in survival, begins to remember what peace feels like.
Emerging research continues to affirm what many indigenous traditions have known for centuries: psychedelics can support deep healing. One area gaining attention is the effect of psilocybin on the nervous system.
Studies suggest that psilocybin promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new pathways and release old patterns. For those carrying trauma, this means the possibility of shifting out of cycles of fear and hypervigilance into greater calm and presence.
In addition, psilocybin appears to reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN)—the part of the brain tied to rumination and self-criticism. This quieting effect often leads to a sense of spaciousness, connectedness, and relief.
While science provides the language of neurons and networks, those who journey therapeutically describe it more simply: feeling safe again, feeling connected again, feeling alive again. The nervous system, once locked in survival, begins to remember what peace feels like.
