In a new study researchers report that psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, temporarily scrambles a critical network of brain areas involved in introspective thinking such as daydreaming and remembering.

People who consume psilocybin-containing mushrooms—otherwise known as magic mushrooms—typically undergo a surreal experience in which their sense of space, time and self is distorted.

Advocates have long argued that, under the right conditions, psychedelic experiences can alleviate mental distress, and a smattering of scientific studies suggests they may be right. Understanding precisely how the drug affects the brain will help scientists and doctors harness its therapeutic potential.

The new findings provide a neurobiological explanation for the drug’s mind-bending effects and lay some of the groundwork for the development of psilocybin-based therapies for mental illnesses such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“There’s a massive effect initially, and when it’s gone, a pinpoint effect remains,” says co-senior author Nico U.F. Dosenbach, a professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“That’s exactly what you’d want to see for a potential medicine. You wouldn’t want people’s brain networks to be obliterated for days, but you also wouldn’t want everything to snap back to the way it was immediately. You want an effect that lasts long enough to make a difference.”

The study which was recently published in the journal Nature creates a road map other scientists can follow to evaluate the effects of psychoactive drugs on brain function, potentially accelerating drug development efforts for any number of psychiatric illnesses.

Support for this work came from the Taylor Family Institute Fund for Innovative Psychiatric Research, the Healthy Mind Lab, the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Science; the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association, the Ralph Metzner Professorship, the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, Washington University’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, the Kiwanis Foundation, the Washington University Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, and Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.

Additionally, this study utilized data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, supported by an NIH grant.

Read more about the research in Nature.