LSD was created in the late 1930s, and its extreme psychedelic properties were discovered just a handful of years later. Almost immediately, the vivid dream-like hallucinatory effects on the brain were of great interest to scientists, who began studying it intensely. Early on, there were promising signs of LSD as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and even alcoholism.

However, most research into hallucinogens like LSD, psilocybin, and DMT was shut down in the ’60s and ’70s as the substances were outlawed. It wasn’t until fairly recently that interest in the potential medicinal effects was reignited, and the last few years have yielded some truly amazing findings.

New case study reveals effect of psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, on elderly Alzheimer’s patient

A recent paper published in Frontiers in Neuroscience shares a remarkable story.

The authors present the case of a Japanese-American woman in her 80s who had been living with symptoms of Alzheimer’s for a decade. Over the past five years, in particular, the severity of her illness had worsened dramatically. She could only speak monosyllabically, if at all, and shows flat affect—essentially, she was barely able to interact at all, even with close loved ones.

It’s a state many families are sadly familiar with. Alzheimer’s is a heartbreaking disease that not only steals so........

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