Hi there,
How often do you catch yourself saying, 'That’s just the way I am?' Maybe you’ve always been a worrier, struggled to speak up, or found yourself having the same argument in different relationships. After enough repetition, a familiar pattern can start to feel like a permanent feature of your personality. But how fixed are we, really?
Our brains retain the ability to adapt throughout life - a capacity called neuroplasticity. Learning changes the connections between nerve cells, although some kinds of learning come more easily during particular developmental windows. Psychedelic research raises an intriguing possibility: could some of those windows reopen? In a 2023 study, researchers found that several psychedelic drugs reopened a “critical period” for learning about social rewards in adult mice. Separate research found that psilocybin stimulated the growth of structures that support connections between neurons.
There’s a crucial distinction here: being more open to change doesn’t determine what you’ll learn. If psychedelics create a period of heightened receptivity, the experiences, relationships and support surrounding that period could help shape its effects. That possibility gives preparation and integration a deeper significance. It also invites us to look beyond the experience itself: what opportunities do we have afterwards to practise a different response, build a healthier relationship or question an assumption we’ve carried for years?
On Wednesday 28 October, Imperial College London psychedelic researcher Tommaso Barba joins us online for Rewiring the Brain: Psychedelics, Neuroplasticity & the Windows of Change. We’ll explore the evidence, the unanswered questions, and what this emerging science might mean for preparing for and integrating psychedelic experiences. There’ll be a live Q&A, and a recording for everyone who books.
MORE UPCOMING EVENTS
As always, you can find all our upcoming events and retreats on our events page.
therapy & integration
Use the code PARTS15 for 15% off 👆
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hot topics in psychedelics
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foraging and ecotherapy
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Interested in growing your own mushrooms? Meet Martian Mushrooms!
Martian Mushrooms is a UK mushroom-growing brand supplying everything from sterilised grain and substrate to all-in-one MushBag kits, fruiting blocks, liquid cultures and growing equipment. We’re really pleased to welcome Martian Mushrooms as a new Psychedelic Society partner.
meditation & music
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retreats & weekends
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Join our community of members!
We fund our work in community-building and psychedelic education primarily through our membership program.
By becoming a member of The Psychedelic Society community, you get access to exclusive members-only events, a discount on events, and support the development of this alternative cultural space. Membership starts from just £5/month!
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