According to a recent study from Frontiers in Neuroscience, psilocybin (otherwise known as, “magic mushrooms”) could be beneficial for folks with Alzheimer’s disease. In 2026, an elderly Japanese-American woman, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for 10 years, received a five gram dose of psilocybin. At this point in time, she was nonverbal and nonreactive to her surroundings.  

After consuming this dose of psilocybin, she had no response to it for a few hours (normally, the effects of these mushrooms start to take hold within an hour). However, about five hours after ingestion, the woman began to talk. After years of silence, she was able to speak in coherent sentences and tell stories about her life. She talked for nearly 24 hours, then lapsed back into her nonverbal state once the psilocybin effects wore off. 

These humble fungi have medicinal powers. They can help stimulate new neural connections within the brain. They can rewire human understanding. And as this research shows, they might even offer a portal back into the world for those with Alzheimer’s disease.  

Sources:  

1. Lago M, Cerveira M, Simonet JX. “Transient multidomain functional improvement in advanced Alzheimer's disease following high-dose psilocybin-containing mushroom administration: a case report.” Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2026 May 28;20:1813281. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1813281. eCollection 2026. PMID: 42292331. 

1. Zheng S, Ma R, Yang Y, Li G. “Psilocybin for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.” Frontiers in Neuroscience 2024 July 10;18:1420601. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1420601. PMID: 39050672; PMCID: PMC11266071.