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Psilocybin Shows Promise in Relieving Chronic Pain and Depression

10/6/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Penn Medicine researchers find psilocybin calms brain circuits linking physical pain and emotional distress.
The findings hint at a non-addictive helper for chronic pain affecting over 1.5 billion.
In mice, a single psilocybin dose reduced pain and depression-like behaviors for two weeks.
Psilocybin stimulates serotonin receptors, acting as a dimmer switch; psilocin injected into anterior cingulate cortex yielded similar improvements.

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Story summary

Penn Medicine researchers find psilocybin calms brain circuits linking physical pain and emotional distress.
The findings hint at a non-addictive helper for chronic pain affecting over 1.5 billion.
In mice, a single psilocybin dose reduced pain and depression-like behaviors for two weeks.
Psilocybin stimulates serotonin receptors, acting as a dimmer switch; psilocin injected into anterior cingulate cortex yielded similar improvements.