Psychedelic drugs can boost brain's ability to learn new things: Study

A latest study has shed light on the impact of psychedelic drugs on the brain. It was noted in the study that psychedelics can unlock the critical periods in the brain that helps in learning new skills.

The study was published in the journal Nature and the findings were those from Johns Hopkins University in the US.

For the research, scientists focused on the ability of five psychedelic drugs - ketamine, LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and ibogaine. The research team also conducted a behavioural test on adult male mice to understand what they learn from their social environment.

It was found that the critical period to learn new things of the mice who were given ketamine, stayed open for 48 hours. On the other hand, this state for the mice who were given psilocybin, stayed open for two weeks. Whereas, the mice who were given LSD, MDMA and ibogaine, their critical period remained open for three, two, and four weeks, respectively.

Other than this, it was also found that there were expression differences among 65 protein-producing genes during and after the critical period was opened.

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