This Is What Magic Mushrooms Do To Your Brain

People have some pretty wild experiences while on 'shrooms, reporting everything from vivid hallucinations to spiritual awakenings to intense euphoria. But exactly what happens inside the brain to produce such a trip?

That's the subject of a new video from the guys at ASAPScience.

According to the video, the main psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms is psilocybin, a compound that the body breaks down into a mind-altering substance called psilocin. To find out what it does to the brain, just check out the video above.

Scientists believe magic mushrooms and other psychedelics might have significant therapeutic uses for people with mental health problems like depression and PTSD. But scientists say more research is needed--and maybe a change in laws governing the use of the drugs.

As ASAPScience's Mitchell Moffit says in the video, "Ultimately, scientists believe that the laws need to change around clinical testing of the drugs so advanced research can be executed to fully understand both the positive and negative effects that this 'magic fungus' has on our brain."