AI Summary
The Allen Institute has launched neuroscience initiatives through its OpenScope program to study perception, recognition, and the effects of psychedelics on brain activity. One project will focus on how psilocybin, the compound in magic mushrooms, alters cognition and perception at a cellular level. Researchers will use advanced recording techniques in mice to observe changes in neuron communication. This research aims to advance understanding of neural mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness.
How do neurons react to magic mushrooms? What happens in the brain when we see motion, or when we recognize grain patterns in a piece of wood? How do our brains track the subtle changes in our friends’ appearances over time?
The Allen Institute has launched four projects to investigate these questions through OpenScope, a shared neuroscience observatory. Just as astronomers use a few well-equipped observatories to study the universe, the OpenScope program lets neuroscientists worldwide propose and direct experiments on the Allen Brain Observatory pipeline. All research is made freely available to anyone tackling open questions in neural activity in health and disease.
Now in its 6th year, OpenScope aims to “pioneer a new model in neuroscience,” said Jérôme Lecoq, Ph.D., associate investigator at the Allen Institute.
“Our platform enhances data acquisition and global sharing, while empowering individual labs to leverage it for their unique scientific pursuits,” said Lecoq, who co-leads OpenScope with Christof Koch. “We’re striving to combine the best of both worlds: focused questions tackled by passionate teams, and a sophisticated platform driven by experienced experimentalists. This is our vision for the future of neuroscience.”
Psychedelic science
One of this year’s OpenScope projects will explore how psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms,” changes brain activity at a cellular level. This compound, known for inducing intense psychedelic experiences in humans, will be used to investigate the neural mechanisms that underlie altered cognition and perception.
Using advanced recording techniques in mice, scientists will observe how neurons communicate differently under the influence of psilocybin. They will also explore how those changes might influence the brain’s ability to process and