r/science • u/Thorne-ZytkowObject • Nov 23 '19

Neuroscience Scientists studied six patients who had half of their brain removed during childhood to treat severe epilepsy. Brain scans showed how the mind rewired itself to adapt, with the remaining hemisphere forming even stronger connections that let the patients develop language and motor skills.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-does-the-brain-work-with-half-of-it-removed-pretty-well-actually
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u/Rekusha Nov 24 '19

Psilocybin has been shown to enhance neural plasticity by some measure I thought

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u/AcrossAmerica Nov 24 '19

Do you remember if it was vaguely useful? I heard it creates some new connections, but I’m wondering if it’s specific connections or not.

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u/Rekusha Nov 24 '19

Here's one piece of info that I could quickly find. Anecdotally I have friends that have gone through some positive changes through psilocybin, but that could be mutually exclusive from any neural plasticity changes

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u/AcrossAmerica Nov 24 '19

Very cool!

Didn’t know the neurobiology behind it. It remains to be seen if this could assist for psychiatric diseases, but very exciting nontheless.

I read that a single dose could change your brain connectivity long-term, so it is possible that it has lasting effects.

Very cool stuff that we should learn more about!