Study: Drug found in ‘shrooms’ might help people who feel socially rejected

A well-known hallucinogen might hold a key to our understanding of social anxiety.

As seen on Live Science, a small study has come out from the University of Zurich that suggests psilocybin — a psychedelic compound found in some mushrooms — could help ease the feelings of social rejection.

Live Science reports that 21 testers — some given the drug, others given a placebo — were told to play a video game that involved being socially excluded. Those who had taken the psilocybin reported feeling “less social” pain than those who were given the placebo, Live Science reports.

“Understanding the biochemical underpinnings of the social rejection experience is important for increasing our knowledge about social/emotional processing and the related neural responses,” the researchers said in their findings, posted Monday on pnas.org.

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