Our brain is far more malleable than was long thought.
Every time you learn something, have a new experience or develop a habit, the connections and patterns of activity in your brain can adapt. We call this remarkable ability neuroplasticity.
Indeed, neuroplasticity has become a key topic in recent years within research into psilocybin, the psychoactive substance found in certain mushrooms and truffles.
From changes in the small connections between nerve cells to temporary shifts in entire brain networks: modern research is giving us an increasingly fascinating insight into what happens in the brain under the influence of psilocybin.
Neuroplasticity is the ability of our brain and nervous system to adapt.
Our brains consist of billions of nerve cells that are constantly exchanging information with one another. The connections between these cells are not static.
Through learning, experiences and behaviour, existing connections can become stronger or weaker, and new connections can form.
That doesn’t just happen during our childhood.
The adult brain, too, remains plastic. Exercise, sleep, new skills, social interaction, meditation and other experiences can all influence the processes involved in learning and adaptation.
Neuroplasticity thus forms an important biological foundation for our ability to to learn, to adapt and to develop new patterns.
After ingestion, psilocybin is converted in the body into psilocin.
Psilocin interacts with various serotonin receptors in the brain, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor plays an important role in the psychedelic experience.
But researchers are now looking far beyond simply what a person sees or feels during such an experience.
One of the big questions is:
What biological changes occur in the brain during and after exposure to psilocybin?
Neuroplasticity keeps cropping up in this context.
Research in cells and animal models shows that classical psychedelics can stimulate processes involved in the structural and functional plasticity of nerve cells. Among other things, the research examines changes in dendrites, dendritic spines and synaptic connections.
Dendrites can be thought of as the branched extensions through which nerve cells receive information. Small structures on these extensions — dendritic spines — play an important role in communication between nerve cells.
The fact that psychedelics can bring about changes in precisely this area is one of the reasons why this field of research is attracting so much interest.
Within the field of psychedelic science, there is increasing discussion of a possible period of heightened plasticity following exposure to psychedelics.
It’s an interesting idea: existing brain patterns become temporarily less rigid, whilst processes that enable change and adaptation can become more active.
A review from 2025 describes how the neuroplastic effects of psilocybin are unlikely to occur via a single, simple biological pathway. In addition to the well-known 5-HT2A receptor, other serotonin receptors and mechanisms such as TrkB signalling pathways investigated.
That makes the picture much richer than:
Psilocybin increases serotonin levels, which in turn alters the brain.
Reality appears to be considerably more complex from a biological perspective — and that is precisely what makes it more interesting.
Neuroplasticity does not occur solely at the level of individual nerve cells.
Using modern brain scans, scientists can also investigate how different parts of the brain communicate with one another.
A major study published in 2024 in Nature The study monitored healthy adults before, during and for three weeks after a full dose of psilocybin.
During the psychedelic experience, the brain’s normal organisation underwent significant changes.
Networks that are normally relatively distinct from one another were temporarily less clearly defined. In particular, the so-called default mode network showed clear changes.
The default mode network — often abbreviated to DMN — is a network of brain regions involved, amongst other things, in self-focused thoughts, autobiographical memory and our sense of self.
Under the influence of psilocybin, the normal synchronisation within and between different brain networks was temporarily disrupted.
You could, to some extent, compare it to an orchestra in which the various sections normally each follow their own set pattern. Under the influence of psilocybin, that fixed structure becomes temporarily more fluid.
That does not mean that the brain simply becomes chaotic.
A a different pattern of brain activity, whereby the usual boundaries between networks may become less distinct.
A systematic review of 81 human neuroimaging studies from 2025 confirms that changes in, amongst other things, the default mode network are a recurring finding in psilocybin research.
Perhaps even more interesting is what happens once the acute psychedelic experience is over.
In the Nature- The study found that, following the experience, a large part of the brain’s organisation reverted to its original state.
But not all at once.
The researchers found changes in the functional connectivity between the the anterior hippocampus and the default mode network which remained measurable for around three weeks after the psilocybin experience.
Among other things, the hippocampus plays an important role in memory and learning.
Researchers are now trying to understand whether such temporary changes are linked to the period during which the brain may be more receptive to new experiences and new ways of thinking.
That raises a fascinating question:
If the brain becomes temporarily more flexible, what do we do with that flexibility?
This flexibility of the brain also raises questions about creative thinking. In our in-depth look at microdosing and creativity we’ll look at what research has shown so far on this subject.
Neuroplasticity means that the brain can adapt to new experiences, information and behaviour.
That is precisely why it is so interesting that psychedelics such as psilocybin may to create, for a limited period, a state in which the brain is more flexible and receptive to change.
When established patterns become temporarily less rigid, experiences, the environment and behaviour can play a significant role in what a person subsequently learns and develops.
Attention plays an interesting role in this. You can read about how focus works, why our attention wanders and what happens when we switch between tasks in Focus: why your attention doesn’t always do what you want it to.
This is in line with the focus within psychedelic research on set, setting and integration: your mindset, the setting in which an experience takes place, and what you do with that experience afterwards.
Psilocybin is therefore not separate from the experience surrounding it. The context and the way in which a person subsequently deals with new insights and experiences can form part of the wider process.
You can therefore think of neuroplasticity as a biological avenue for change: the brain is dynamic and can continue to adapt in response to experiences.
The popular term rewiring the brain Biologically speaking, it is a simplification, but it does point to something fascinating.
Research shows that psilocybin can cause significant temporary changes in the way brain networks communicate. Preclinical research also reveals changes in dendritic spines and other processes involved in structural and synaptic plasticity.
So it’s not literally a matter of rewiring the brain. What we’re seeing is perhaps even more interesting: The adult brain has a remarkable ability to adapt its connections and patterns of activity.
It is precisely here that an interesting new research question arises.
If psilocybin can influence processes involved in neuroplasticity, what happens with the much smaller amounts used during microdosing?
Microdosing has now become a growing field of research in its own right. Would you like to find out more about the method itself first? Then read our comprehensive guide on what microdosing is and how it works. Among other things, scientists are investigating changes in mood, cognition, brain activity and neural connectivity in response to low doses of psychedelics.
The most robust findings regarding structural neuroplasticity currently come from preclinical research and studies involving full psychedelic doses. Meanwhile, research into low doses is helping us to gain an ever-better understanding of the processes that may also play a role in microdosing.
This makes microdosing a particularly interesting aspect of a much broader scientific issue: How does our brain respond to low-dose, repeated exposure to psychedelics?
Perhaps neuroplasticity is not, after all, interesting solely because psychedelics may influence it.
It tells us something far more fundamental.
Our brains continue to change throughout our lives.
What we learn, experience, practise and repeat matters.
Psilocybin research offers scientists a unique way to study this plasticity in greater depth. And new techniques — ranging from microscopic examination of nerve cells to advanced brain scans in humans — are revealing more and more aspects of this story.
This also shifts our understanding of the brain.
Not as a machine that is definitively completed at some point in adulthood, but as a dynamic system that constantly responds to experiences and its environment.
And perhaps that is one of the most fascinating insights to emerge from modern psychedelic science:
The adult brain is far less fixed than we ever thought.
Psilocybin is the active ingredient at the heart of the truffles contained in the Wise Rootz microdosing boxes.
We cannot directly apply research involving full psychedelic doses to microdosing. However, the science behind psilocybin does form an important part of the bigger picture that we are exploring at Wise Rootz.
We are interested in what researchers are discovering about psilocybin, brain function, consciousness, neuroplasticity and behaviour — and in how that knowledge will continue to develop in the coming years.
As part of our own microdosing experience, we therefore combine truffles with information, cocoa, structure and guidance via the Wise Rootz app.
Not based on the idea that a single substance will do the work for you, but on a broader perspective:
Conscious change also begins with paying attention to what you experience and how you respond to it.
Discover microdosing at Wise Rootz.
This information is intended for general educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Research into psilocybin, psychedelics and neuroplasticity is rapidly evolving. Findings from animal studies or research involving full psychedelic doses cannot automatically be applied to microdosing.
Psilocybin-containing truffles are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any physical or mental health conditions. Microdosing is not suitable for everyone. Are you taking any medication, do you have a medical or psychiatric condition, or are you unsure whether microdosing is right for you? If so, please consult a qualified healthcare professional beforehand.
