Your brain on drugs: different psychedelics work in surprisingly similar ways Hundreds of scans hint at how substances such as psilocybin, LSD and ayahuasca alter connections between key areas of the brain. By Miryam Naddaf

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01053-2?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=4b50fd2341-nature-briefing-daily-20260408&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Five routes; same trip Five psychedelic drugs have a strikingly similar effect on brain networks. Researchers saw this ‘signature’ pattern of brain activity in the brain scans of people who had taken mind-altering substances such as psilocybin, LSD and ayahuasca, despite these drugs having a different chemical make-up. A better understanding of how psychedelics affect the brain could inform their potential use in treating conditions such as depression, anxiety and addiction. Such a large study, which combines data from 11 brain-imaging studies, is the first step towards that understanding, experts say.