“Psilocybin mushrooms may have played a role in the origin of humanity, and consciousness-expanding medicines may contribute to the future evolution of our species. neuroscientists from imperial college london recently discovered that psilocybin, found in over 200 species of mushrooms worldwide, stimulates neurogenesis, particularly in the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in learning. aside from participating in the formation of new neurons, the variety of psychedelic states of consciousness psilocybin catalyzes dissolves the brain’s default mode network, which scientists call the ego state of consciousness. instead, a more hyperconnected brain state takes the place of the physiological configuration representative of our habitual state of consciousness. some neural pathways that are catalyzed by psilocybin stabilize, establishing lasting effects in the individual’s physiology and consciousness. these results are in agreement with the findings of a recent study on psilocybin conducted at johns hopkins university, in which doctors found long-term positive changes in the participants’ personalities. terence and dennis mckenna hypothesized that psilocybin mushrooms might have been the key ingredient that catalyzed the evolution of humanity. terence mckenna was an intellectual who was a spread cultural awareness of psilocybin mushrooms, and dennis is an ethno-pharmacologist who has received post-doctoral research fellowships from both the national institute of mental health and the department of neurology at the stanford university school of medicine. a mounting body of evidence over the last several decades appears to support their hypothesis. an example is that 9,000-year-old cave paintings, located relatively close to the region where humanity emerged in africa, arguably depict the shamanic use of mushrooms; this shows psilocybin mushroom evolved where early humans also evolved. currently, surveys intended to find the regularity of psychedelic use estimate that 1 in 10 americans use psychedelics, and rigorous experiments are finding that psychedelic treatments can enhance creativity and heal trauma. federal legalization of mdma is projected to occur in 2021, with legalization of psilocybin to follow shortly after. as psychedelic treatments enter mainstream culture through legal legitimacy, these medicines may influence our values, ecological awareness, creativity, and identities.”