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Scientists Think Taking Acid Gives You the Mind of a Baby

Researchers put some people on acid into MRIs to figure out what anyone who has fried balls and stared fixedly at colorful lights for hours already knew.
Photo by River Donaghey

Read: Meet the Only Doctor in the World Legally Allowed to Use LSD to Treat Patients

Lately, the scientific community has begun to rediscover LSD's benefit as a therapeutic device—or as a way to kick your smoking habit and pass the time in prison, if you're looking for that. And a study released on Monday took a big step towards actually understanding the drug by, for the first time ever, imaging brain activity of people on LSD, Reuters reports.

The study expanded on the ways psychedelics can be used to treat depression and addiction, but it also revealed evidence of something anyone who has fried balls and stared fixedly at colorful lights for hours already knew: that dropping acid gives you the mind of an infant.

"In many ways, the brain in the LSD state resembles the state our brains were in when we were infants: free and unconstrained," the study's lead researcher, Robin Carhart-Harris, said. "This also makes sense when we consider the hyper-emotional and imaginative nature of an infant's mind."

"For the first time, we can really see what's happening in the brain during the psychedelic state, and can better understand why LSD had such a profound impact on self-awareness," said another researcher, David Nutt. "This could have great implications for psychiatry."

Read more about the new research and acid's baby-brain effects over on Motherboard.