Study: Clinical applications for mushrooms

BALTIMORE, July 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms may have therapeutic value for people under great stress.

A Johns Hopkins University team's study, published Tuesday in medical journal Psychopharmacology, suggests that the drug, Psilocybin, infuses users with a sense of spirituality that could be helpful to those fighting addiction or struggling with a terminal illness, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Of the 36 middle-aged test subjects, 12 rated the experience as the "single most spiritually significant" of their lives, while another 12 rated the experience in their top five, The Washington Post reported.

The researchers said they hope the research, the first to closely examine the properties of hallucinogenic mushrooms, will lead to more studies of perception-altering substances, the Post said.

"Our study has shown we can conduct a study of this type safely, and that the effects produced are really quite interesting," research team leader Roland Griffiths said. "There is a clear neuroscience agenda to understand those effects, and clear clinical applications that could be pursued."