Do Psychedelic Trips Actually Start In The Gut Instead Of The Brain?
If someone asks you where psychedelic trips start, most people would undoubtedly say the brain. But do psychedelic trips actually start somewhere else, in an organ that’s still very connected to the brain?
Hint: Yes, we’re referring to the gut.
As Healing Maps’ resident neuroscientist Zeus Tipado explains, maybe we have it all wrong, and psychedelic trips don’t actually originate in the brain.
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Where Do Psychedelic Trips Start?
Per the information Zeus provides, most serotonin receptors are in the gut, not in the brain. In fact, about 95 percent of 5-HT receptors are in the gut. In comparison, only five percent of the same receptors reside in the brain. So when a psychedelic trip starts, it may come from a trigger in your stomach rather than something from inside your skull.
If this is all confusing, don’t fret. The video below will provide some better understanding.
The human body often throws us for loops, and this may just be another example.
Of course, Zeus points out that it’s critical for more information to support this idea. After all, we can continuously ask where psychedelic trips start in the body, but, without research results, the answer may still be confusing.
Science has proven the connection between the gut and brain in other areas — specifically with diet. And since psychedelics increase cortisone levels in the stomach, maybe this really is where a psychedelic trip begins?
The idea of a psychedelic trip starting in the gut rather than the brain sounds crazy. Most evidence suggests that psychedelics impact the brain first — it’s the part of the body most impacted by these drugs. But as psychedelic drug studies continue, more results may further support the theory that the gut is more impacted than at first glance.
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