How psychedelics push your brain to dream while awake – new study

> The psychedelic acted like a switch: it dampened the brain’s response to what the eyes were seeing, while boosting connections with memory areas, letting the brain “fill in” missing visuals from its own memory. > > Instead of relying on what was actually in front of the eyes, the brain began inserting fragments from its own internal memory banks. This finding provides an explanation for how visual hallucinations may work. > > The lead researcher, Dirk Jancke, described this state as being remarkably similar to partial dreaming. Under the influence of the drug, the brain’s internal imagery overrides external reality, creating a vivid, self-generated world.