Last Updated on June 21, 2026 by Staff
Psilocybin is a kind of compound that is found in some types of mushrooms. It has been getting a lot of attention lately because it might be able to help people with health problems. Some studies have already shown that it could help people who are suffering from depression, anxiety and addiction to things like alcohol. One thing that scientists are really interested in is how psilocybin can help people with alcohol use disorder, which’s a condition that affects a lot of people and is hard to treat.
Some researchers from the University of Heidelberg and the University of Zurich have found out that psilocybin might be able to change the genes of people who are recovering from alcohol addiction. They published their findings in a journal called Translational Psychiatry. It gives us some new ideas about how psilocybin might be able to help people recover from addiction and stop drinking again.
The Study
To learn more about psilocybin the researchers looked at some data from a trial. There were 37 patients in the trial who were recovering from alcohol use disorder. All of these patients had already gone through a detox program before they started the study.
The patients were split into two groups. One group got a dose of psilocybin and the other group got a treatment that did not do anything. The researchers took blood samples from the patients before they got the treatment right after they got it and a month later.
The researchers were looking at something called DNA methylation. This is when little chemical markers are added to the DNA and it can affect which genes are turned on or off. By looking at how the DNA methylation changed the researchers hoped to see what effects the psilocybin was having on the patients.
Gene Changes
The researchers found some changes in the DNA methylation of the patients who got the psilocybin. One of the changes happened in a gene called TLE4 which helps control other genes. They also saw changes in a gene called RASGRP4, which’s important for the immune system. There were some changes near a gene called HTR2A, which is the gene that makes psilocybin have its psychological effects. Another area that was affected was near a gene called TNF, which helps with inflammation and immune responses.
These findings suggest that psilocybin might be able to affect the body in a lot of ways, not just the brain. It might be able to affect the system and inflammation which are important for mental health and addiction.
Immune Connection
One of the surprising things about the study was that a lot of the genes that were affected were related to the immune system. We know that alcohol use disorder can mess up the system and cause inflammation. The researchers think that psilocybin might be able to help regulate the system and reduce inflammation, which could be an important way that it helps people recover from addiction.
Even though we need to do research, the study suggests that psilocybin might be able to work in a lot of different ways, not just by changing the brain. This could help explain why psychedelic therapies can have lasting effects after just one or a few treatments.
Future Potential
The researchers are careful to say that their findings are a starting point because the study was pretty small. We need to do studies to confirm the results and figure out exactly how the genetic changes help people recover from alcohol addiction.
With the limitations the study is really exciting because it opens up a new area of research. If we can understand how psilocybin affects genes we might be able to find markers that can predict whether a treatment will work. We might also be able to develop therapies that are even more effective.
As more people become interested in medicine, studies like this one can help us understand the complex biological processes that are involved. We still have a lot to learn. The findings suggest that psilocybin might not just change how people think and feel but it could also affect the genes that help people recover from addiction and heal. Psilocybin is an interesting compound and psilocybin might be able to help people in a lot of different ways. The researchers are going to keep studying psilocybin to see how it can help people with alcohol use disorder and psilocybin might become a treatment option for people who are recovering from alcohol addiction.