BY KONRAD VLADIMIROV
Today I will be analysing the book “How to Change Your Mind” which is a laudatory overview of the history, science, and effects of psychedelics, written by Michael Pollard. The author explores the theory and science behind the legendary psilocybin mushroom and LSD, taking on the role of a psychonaut who delves into both philosophical and chemical theories.
The main psychoactive compound discussed in the book wasn’t produced by a chemist; rather, it has been around for thousands of years and is generated by an inconspicuous little mushroom. A brief history of the mushroom must necessarily be short, since its existence has been recorded since the time of the Aztecs and has pivotally affected generations of humans. Used by the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America as a sacrament, it was called “teonanacatl” or “flesh of the gods.” The mushroom was brutally suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church following the Spanish Conquest and was swept under the rug as a blasphemous secret for many years.
In 1955, American ethnomycologist R. Gordon Wasson journeyed to Oaxaca, Mexico, to observe and document the sacred psilocybin mushroom rituals of the Mazatec people. Under the guidance of the renowned curandera Maria Sabina in a darkened hut, Wasson participated in a ceremony that provided profound insights into altered states of consciousness, a transformative experience he later detailed in his influential 1957 Life magazine article, “Seeking the Magic Mushroom.” Wasson recounts that as the ritual began, Sabina prayed and invoked the spirits, calling upon the mushrooms as sacred entities. She distributed the psilocybin mushrooms, known locally as los niños santos (“the holy children”), and Wasson consumed them, experiencing vivid visions, synesthetic sensations, and a profound sense of interconnectedness. The ritual included chanting and singing, with Sabina acting as a conduit between the physical and spiritual worlds. Wasson later described how time seemed to dissolve and how he felt transported to a realm of pure knowledge, where he encountered geometric patterns, ancient symbols, and ineffable wisdom. This experience not only pioneered the popularity of psilocybin but also generated both admiration and fear. Later, in the 1960s, a small group of scientists, often referred to as psychonauts, conducted tests and experiments, believing that something precious had been lost to science and resolved to rediscover it.
The book touches on important events and presents key scientists as protagonists in its narrative. There is Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist who first synthesised and then discovered the psychedelic properties of LSD. Hofmann’s accidental discovery in 1943 laid the groundwork for decades of scientific inquiry and countercultural experimentation. Timothy Leary, perhaps the most prominent protagonist, was a polarising yet influential figure who became the public face of LSD’s countercultural journey. His famous call to “turn on, tune in, drop out” encapsulated a radical challenge to traditional social structures. In the book, Pollan discusses how Leary’s enthusiastic advocacy not only popularised psychedelics but also ignited a cultural movement that questioned established norms and explored new forms of spiritual and psychological insight. Personally, he helped me realise that it wasn’t that hippies were attracted to the mushroom; rather, it was the mushroom that created hippies. Robin Carhart-Harris was a modern pioneer who applied advanced neuroimaging techniques at Imperial College to map out how psychedelics alter brain connectivity. He discovered that psilocybin creates thousands of new connections in the brain while interconnecting existing pathways, a side effect being synesthesia, in which sensory information becomes cross-wired so that colours are experienced as sounds or sounds as tactile sensations.
The Stoned Ape theory posits that the ape was propelled into the era of Homo sapiens with the help of the psilocybin mushroom. This idea is not susceptible to proof or disproof, since mushroom consumption by early hominids would be untraceable in fossil records, and there would have been no need for tools to process or eat the mushroom. What might have started as a biochemical accident evolved into a genius strategy for enlarging the species and expanding its range, winning the fervent devotion of a very intelligent and well-traveled group, namely Homo sapiens. In an almost symbiotic relationship, it was precisely the mushroom that endowed us with the tools of imagination and language.
However, what would specifically enable the mushroom to survive selective evolution through so many eras? Perhaps psilocybin functions as a defence mechanism. Typically, secondary metabolites produced in plants serve a defensive purpose; yet for self-preservation, it might be easier for the psilocybin mushroom to evolve a toxin that outright kills its predator. One argument is that instead of producing such a toxin, which would quickly select for resistance, the mushroom may alter a predator’s neurotransmitters to distract it. A second theory, which I personally believe, is that the mushroom produces psilocybin as an attractant rather than a deterrent. Evidence for this is that psilocybin is produced in the fruiting body of the mushroom, the least protected area, which is typically designed to be eaten. Thus, we now realise that, as an attractant, mushrooms with the most potent psychoactive stimulant are selectively eaten, catalysing the evolution of psilocybin production.
But what makes it such an attractant that other species choose to consume? Animals are known to eat the psilocybin mushroom and may even enjoy an occasional change in consciousness. My favourite explanation in the book comes from Italian ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini, who explains that during rapid environmental change or crisis, the survival of a group may be aided when some of its members abandon their accustomed conditioned responses and embrace radically different behaviours. This “depatterning factor” suggests that when old patterns no longer support a species’ self-preservation, the radical, innovative perceptions and behaviours induced by psychedelics offer the best chance for adaptation. Homo sapiens may have arrived at one of these periods of crisis, which called for mental change, and indulged in the mushroom.
Michael Pollan then recounts his own ineffable experience with psilocybin mushrooms and explains how psilocybin and LSD work. Both molecules belong to a group called tryptamines, which are very similar to serotonin, a famous neurotransmitter produced in our bodies (chemically known as 5-hydroxytryptamine). Although serotonin is well known, much about it remains a mystery. For example, it binds to a dozen or so different receptors found not only in the brain but also throughout the body. Depending on the receptor type, serotonin may trigger a neuron to fire or inhibit it. Our group of tryptamines has a strong affinity for a particular serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A (which scientists believe is responsible for dreaming). These receptors are largely located in the human cortex, and psychedelics resemble serotonin closely enough to attach themselves to this receptor site. This was demonstrated by Franz Vollenweider, who showed in experiments that when he administered a drug called ketanserin, which blocks the receptor, psilocybin had no effect on the subject.
Interestingly, the discovery of psychedelics poses philosophical questions that Pollan answers very effectively, in my opinion. The 5-HT2A receptor might be the key to the lock, but how did that chemical opening lead to the dissolution of one’s ego, a phenomenon that the author so vividly experienced and, along with many others, refers to as “ego death”? During one of his psilocybin sessions, Pollan recounts how he initially tried to hold onto his sense of self, attempting to analyse the experience as it unfolded. However, as the effects deepened, he felt his usual sense of identity begin to unravel. He describes the sensation as if the boundary between “himself” and the external world had dissolved, leaving him in a state of pure awareness. At one point, he visualised his ego as a set of carefully maintained mental constructs that were dismantled piece by piece, until there was nothing left but an overwhelming sense of unity with everything around him. He felt a deep connection to nature, time, and the universe itself, as if he were no longer a separate being but part of a vast, interconnected whole. Pollan hypothesises that this pertains to the subject of consciousness. Sigmund Freud once wrote, “There is nothing of which we are more certain than the feeling of our own self, our own ego.”
In tests conducted by Franz Vollenweider, it was discovered that psychedelics decrease brain activity, specifically in the Default Mode Network (DMN). Discovered by accident, the DMN is responsible for reflection, mental constructions, and brooding. It lights up when we daydream, let our minds wander, or worry. Interestingly, the DMN isn’t fully operational until late in a child’s development and sits at the very top of our brain’s priorities, acting as an uber-conductor that controls other systems. The DMN maintains order in such a complex system that, without it, our mental processes might descend into chaos. More importantly, it is the part of the brain associated with the “ego.” If a researcher gives you a list of adjectives and asks you to consider how they apply to you, it is the DMN that lights up. It represents the individual identity of a person, and when DMN activity is cut off under the influence of psychedelics, the ego temporarily vanishes, allowing the usual boundaries of self and world to melt away. This mystical sense of merging into a vast totality is the common feeling of “being part of something greater.” Another effect of the drug that the author experiences is perceiving the world in a completely new and abstract light. The DMN acts as an inhibitor on other parts of the brain by filtering the information we receive throughout the day; however, doing so constrains the mind and creates a prediction-making machine. To form a perception of anything, the brain takes in a small amount of sensory information to make an educated guess, leaping to conclusions and relying on past experiences to understand the world. Predictive coding is a model that suggests our perceptions aren’t a literal transcription but rather a seamless illusion woven from past experiences and data, for example, the ability to see faces in ordinary objects. The brain prefers top-down predictions, reducing uncertainty and surprise rather than relying on “bottom-up” sensory data. Thus, when psychedelics inhibit the DMN, the brain perceives sensory signals as completely raw and fresh, devoid of past experiences. I personally realised that this may explain why children, with their underdeveloped DMN, see the world in such an inquisitive and abstract manner. People who are colour blind reportedly see certain colours for the first time, and when Pollan listened to Bach’s Cello Suite during his psilocybin episode, he vividly recounted nuances and shading he had never heard before.
Finally, Pollan explains the significant medicinal effects psychedelics have therapeutically. As mentioned before, the science of serotonin and LSD has been closely intertwined, leading to the development of SSRI antidepressants. Carhart-Harris suggests that psychological disorders are not the result of a lack of order in the brain (DMN) but rather an excess of it. He lists narrow and rigid thinking, addiction, OCD, depression, and even coma. When self-reflective thinking overwhelms the ego, depression ensues, and the ego turns inward. As we have seen, psychedelics reverse this process by temporarily diminishing the effect of the DMN. Pollan also highlights historical research from the 1950s and 1960s, when LSD was used to treat alcoholism with promising results, until the war on drugs halted further investigation. He argues that psychedelics work differently from conventional addiction treatments because they don’t just suppress cravings, they allow individuals to confront and reframe their relationship with alcohol at a fundamental level. This ability to dissolve entrenched patterns of thought and behaviour, Pollan suggests, is what makes psychedelics such a powerful tool in addiction therapy.
References
1. Introduction to Psychedelics and Their Significance
Referenced in: Introduction / Part I – “History and Culture”
2. Historical Context of the Psilocybin Mushroom
Referenced in: Part I, Chapter 1 – “Origins and Cultural Impact”
3. Wasson’s Journey and the Mazatec Ritual
Referenced in: Part I, Chapter 2 – “The Magic Mushroom”
4. Psychedelic Pioneers and Their Impact
Referenced in: Part II, Chapter 3 – “The Psychedelic Pioneers”
5. The Stoned Ape Theory and Human Evolution
Referenced in: Part II, Chapter 4 – “Psychedelics and the Evolution of Consciousness”
6. Biological Underpinnings: Psilocybin’s Role as Defense or Attractant
Referenced in: Part II, Chapter 5 – “The Biology of Psychedelics”
7. Adaptation and the “Depatterning Factor”
Referenced in: Part II, Chapter 5 – “The Biology of Psychedelics”
8. Mechanisms of Action: Tryptamines and Serotonin Receptors
Referenced in: Part III, Chapter 6 – “How Psychedelics Work”
9. Ego Dissolution and the Personal Experience of “Ego Death”
Referenced in: Part IV, Chapter 7 – “Personal Journeys”
10. The Default Mode Network and Altered Perception
Referenced in: Part III, Chapter 6 – “How Psychedelics Work”
11. Therapeutic Potential and Addiction Treatment Referenced in: Part IV, Chapter 8 – “The Trip Treatment”
Sharanya S