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We are very dependent on our senses, on taste, sight, smell, touch and hearing. We need them to perceive the world. When one of these senses malfunctions or is altered by a mind-altering substance, it makes for a special experience. In this blog, we will discuss how psilocybin affects the 5 senses, because it is a fascinating phenomenon.
Psilocybin is the substance in magic mushrooms that causes you to hallucinate. During a trip, the senses can also change. Most people know that you can see things that are not there; that is one of the most familiar phenomena. But the other senses are also affected, such as hearing and touch. But what actually causes these strange changes?
It is mainly psilocybin that is responsible for this, or actually it is the precursor substance psilocin. Psilocin binds to serotonin receptors in the brain, mimicking the effects of this neurotransmitter. As a result, it can change our perception. It’s not that shrooms modify our senses, they actually change the way your brain processes outside stimuli. Because of this, psilocybin enhances your emotions and affects how the 5 senses work.
So it is psilocybin that affects the senses. During a trip, you may notice effects in only one of the senses, but also in several at once. It may also be that different mushroom strains affect certain senses more strongly than others. The dose can also have an influence (generally speaking, the higher the dose, the more intense the effects). You can try for yourself what works best for you and what gives the most pleasant, special or magical experience.
Most people are convinced that magic mushrooms cause hallucinations. However, this is not entirely correct. What you see during a trip is a representation of what can be seen in the real world. Psilocybin only changes the way you perceive this real world. So it’s your brain playing a trick.
What happens is that you perceive colors much brighter, you can see beautiful patterns on plain surfaces, and you can perceive geometric patterns both with your eyes open, and closed. Sometimes these visual hallucinations can be quite intense, leaving you unsure of what is real and what is not. But again, no worries: the effects will recede on their own. For this reason, it is wise to make sure that a trip sitter is always present and that you have a Tripstopper in your home.
Psilocybin also affects your hearing. Whatever you hear, whether ordinary everyday sounds, music or sounds of nature, during a trip your hearing is usually amplified. Again, it does not actually amplify your hearing; there is no direct effect on your ears. What happens is that magic mushrooms affect how your brain processes sounds.
Because of this effect on hearing, people who go tripping often pay close attention to their playlist. Therefore, music has a lot of influence on our emotions, it can trigger memories and affect your mood. Similarly, during your trip you may hear details in the music that you never noticed before, such as bass lines, rhythms or suddenly the meaning of a lyric comes through clearly. Those are magical moments!
It’s a little less common, but magic mushrooms can also affect your sense of smell. Usually you will be able to smell better: scents are richer, more powerful and stand out more. Of course, it depends on what scents you smell, whether you should really be happy with this. The smell of cut grass, coffee, baked bread or an apple pie are naturally delicious and will be able to give you a euphoric feeling. But sweat odor or a perfume that is too strong can really come in too hard and even induce a feeling of nausea.
One of the other 5 senses that psilocybin can affect is the sense of touch. Also, what you touch can come in more powerfully. Because of psilocybin, you get a closer relationship with your body. While tripping, you may become totally absorbed in feeling different textures (your pet’s nice soft fur, for example, or the ribbed fabric of a pillow).
Not much research has been done on the effects of psilocybin to the sense of touch. But a study (from 2021) found that psilocybin can cause “mismatch negativity” to occur less often. This process can cause you to feel more connected or more detached toward your body. Being connected to your body is important for survival, but also for a good self-image. Therefore, psilocybin can potentially be used in treatment of disorders, where there is deteriorated body awareness.
It is also possible to have taste hallucinations. When you are tripping, you may suddenly experience a taste sensation, such as sweetness or a taste of melted sugar. However, you can also taste less pleasant flavors, such as metal. The effect on your taste is likewise noticeable when you eat or drink something, with everything tasting more intense. This can be pleasant, making you want more of it or the opposite.
One particular phenomenon that can occur under the influence of psilocybin is the intertwining of the 5 senses. This is called synesthesia. You then experience that the senses merge. It may then happen that more than one sense responds to a stimulus, such as that you taste a certain flavor, when you see a color. This is caused by the higher levels of serotonin in the brain, which causes certain areas of the brain to interact that normally do not. This phenomenon is fortunately (or unfortunately?) only temporary.
So it is a fact that psilocybin affects the 5 senses and you will have to take this into account when you are tripping. There is no need to be afraid of it. What you see, hear or taste comes in more powerful temporarily, but the effects subside on their own. Also enjoy enhanced senses or even synesthesia? Then look around our shop at the mushroom grow kits or our magic truffles. These, like magic mushrooms, also contain psilocybin!
