For many people, eating "magic" mushrooms can mean an eye-dilated night out in the wild. Sometimes the wild they roam is outdoors -- Mystic Vale, perhaps, or Mount Doug. Often that wild is internal, a psychological journey of uncertain destinations. But of the numerous reasons why people ingest "magic" mushrooms, improved psychological health isn't usually high on the list. Until now, perhaps.

Researchers at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, lead by Dr. Roland Griffiths, recently conducted a five-month study in which 18 participants ingested carefully calculated doses of psilocybin, the psychoactive constituent in hallucinogenic mushrooms. The results, published online on June 15 in the journal Psychopharmacology, suggest that an ideal dosage of psilocybin can positively affect an individual's attitude, mood and behaviour.

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