Visual Psilocybin Therapy is a project about the visual effects of psilocybin and its therapeutic power.Psilocybin is an alkaloid found in fungi of the genus Psilocybe sp. and it works by mimicking the effects of serotonin and occurs in the attainment of altered states of consciousness in the search for the divine and self-knowledge. 

Currently, spiritualists and scientists have been studying in psilocybin an experience on the deepest areas of the psyche, never reached in ordinary states of consciousness. Promising studies report the therapeutic potential of psilocybin in the treatment of refractory depression and other disorders of the mind and show a great relationship with conventional neuropharmacology – psilocybin is capable of performing changes in nerve conductions, opening a spectrum of possibilities in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. What was once just spirituality, today, is allied to science.

The visual effects of psilocybin include profound perceptual-cognitive changes such as visual and sensory hallucinations, auditory distortions, synesthesia, well-being, ego death (complete loss of subjective sense of identity) and suggest learnings as the entheogen acts as a psychic guide. This project suggests that we can expand the cognitive studies of psilocybin, reproducing the visual effects and creating visual, sensory and auditory neurostimuli, based on applied studies, which suggest an alteration of consciousness as a therapeutic end.With the increasing and popularization of treatment against depression and anxiety, technology becomes a tool in the creation of alternative therapies in order to minimize the effects caused by such diseases, and can create a safe place for a creative journey in your self-knowledge.



 




Psilocybin was first identified and isolated in the late 1950s by Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist famous for discovering LSD. During the 1950s and 1960s, psilocybin, along with other psychedelics, was the subject of intense research for its therapeutic potential in a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and alcoholism. By the 1970s, research on psychedelics had largely ground to a halt due to the banning of hallucinogenic substances in many countries. However, beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there has been a resurgence of scientific interest in psilocybin. Researchers have begun to re-examine its therapeutic potential, particularly for conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety associated with terminal cancer. 

The main motivation for this project is twofold: the social taboo surrounding the use of the substance and the conflict with the pharmaceutical industry. The social taboo surrounding psilocybin and other psychedelics has historical, cultural and political roots that have influenced public perception, legislation and scientific research on these substances. The main one is stigmatization precisely because media and government campaigns have frequently portrayed psychedelics as dangerous and responsible for antisocial behavior and psychological harm, in addition to myths and exaggerations such as using narratives without scientific basis, about the dangers of psychedelics, such as permanent brain damage or extreme behavior, which have contributed to public fear. In addition, Brazil has an anti-drug policy that reinforces criminalization and stigma, hindering research and medical use. 

Regarding the conflict with the pharmaceutical industry, we are initially impacted by the business model of this traditional industry, which depends on medications that need to be taken continuously, generating recurring revenue. Psilocybin, on the other hand, can offer lasting benefits after just one or a few sessions, which can threaten business models based on chronic treatments. We also come up against the issue of patents and intellectual property in how we treat psilocybin, which is a natural molecule and therefore cannot be patented in the same way as synthetic compounds. Pharmaceutical companies have less financial incentive to invest in something they cannot easily monopolize. We also have issues of stigma and legislation itself, because in addition to psilocybin facing significant stigma due to its association with the counterculture of the 1960s and its classification as a controlled substance in many countries, this creates regulatory barriers that hinder research and commercialization.



Psilocybin Diary - 2022 - actual




   



Psilocybin Visual and Sensory Therapy emerged from a self-experiment, as a patient (autistic and highly qualified) using different types of magic mushrooms in different quantities. During these experiments I recorded my reactions and also created a diary as the process progressed.

In the photo below, the painting made during this process, below some making off videos recorded during the paintings and finally the diaries in 3 languages ​​(Portuguese, Spanish and English)

This project started in 2022, specifically the painting.



       












VISUAL & SENSORIAL EXPERIMENT

This experiment is developed using some sensory topics. The idea is a complete immersion in all senses, inducing an alternation of consciousness. It is to create a welcoming environment of spiritual and creative expansion. This immersion will cover:

Gases and smells
Sound
Vibrations
Light
Mapping, Visuals
Food and drinks

The idea behind the project is to create a therapeutic immersion that simulates the visual and sensory effects of psilocybin, using smells, lights and sounds to stimulate the visitor in all their senses. This environment is designed to help create an expansion of consciousness or provide a state of calm, using advanced knowledge of neuroscience and sensory psychology.

This project works from three specific perspectives:

Mechanisms of Action of Psilocybin
When ingested, psilocybin is converted into psilocin in the body, which acts mainly on serotonin receptors (5-HT2A) in the brain. This mechanism is responsible for its hallucinogenic properties, altering sensory, cognitive and emotional perception. Psilocin increases neural connectivity, allowing communication between regions of the brain that normally do not interact so intensely.

Effects on the Default Mode Network (DMN)
Psilocybin is known to decrease activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN), a brain network associated with ego, introspection, and self-reference. This reduction in DMN activity can lead to a sense of ego dissolution, promoting greater connection with the environment and an expanded perspective on one's own existence.

Sensory Stimulation and Neuroplasticity
Multisensory stimulation, such as the combination of lights, sounds, and smells, can influence neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. The proposed therapeutic immersion aims to take advantage of these principles to safely and controlled replicate the sensory and emotional effects of psilocybin, without the need for the use of the substance.


Holly Supper



Holly Supper




As this is a research and experiment where all the senses must be engaged, a welcoming atmosphere is created for a performance, where dishes are created based on figures from the history of psilocybin and symbologies. The visual aspect of the performance refers to alchemy, the forest and the chemical laboratory.

MENU

The Spirit of María Sabina - A translucent sphere made of alginate, containing a microdose of psilocybin, infusion of cempasúchil flower (Mexican marigold) and essence of copal. Suspended in an aromatic mist, served with palo santo vapor.

Hofmann's Smile - Psychotropic gum. A translucent agar agar tablet with a microdose, sweet-sour flavor with citrus notes (Sicilian lemon, yuzu, lemongrass). Use of carbon dioxide for immediate effervescence in the mouth (like natural Pop Rocks).

Leary's Library - A psilocybin shot with aromatic synesthesia: liquid with layers (chlorophyll + beetroot + rose water + apple cider vinegar). Each layer activates a different color, sensation and aroma. The glass releases cold vapor when raised.

Synaptic - Edible mushroom foam (shiitake, portobello, champignon) and microdosing, solidified with soy lecithin and served on magnets that make the dish levitate (magnetic levitation).

God's brain - Ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, flavored with cocoa, cardamom and psilocybin. Served on a cold stone that releases an earthy aroma.

Reincarnation Mycelial - “Tomb-garden” dessert with edible soil (cocoa + mushrooms + chestnuts) and fresh petals. When digging with the spoon, the audience finds a small mirror at the bottom — reflecting themselves.





Augmented Reality Experiment


 




First Public Experiment




The first public experiment was carried out during the SP-Arte Circuit of studios in downtown São Paulo, where my studio, Mice, was open. I immersed myself in one of the rooms and had the collaboration of  VJ Spetto to create the mapping of the room, Celio Barros with his independent music label based in Norway, PMC - Produção de Música Contemporânea, and 3D and motion artist Guilherme Todorov, who is part of a collective with me, called Mutualism, and works between Brazil and Germany, specifically São Paulo and Berlin.

In this room I placed a gas machine with liquid glycerin and lavender essence. I also placed isufilm on the floor, some crumpled paper on the black background and several fabrics of different colors and textures.



 

Overall, nothing seems static—even fixed objects seem to dance or breathe. Shapes in this context smoothly transform into one another (morphing). And they seem to melt together as if the eye were inside a liquid dream. The biological value of highlighting was taken into account—associating shapes, patterns, and movement with life, the body, and fluidity. Visual perception under psilocybin has also been found to regress to more primitive states of visuality—as if you were seeing as a child, or as if you were dreaming. Areas of the occipital and parietal lobes, which normally filter and interpret the world, are more open to the raw flow of information—hence the intense, shifting, and symbolic-laden forms.



 



Visuals

 

The visuals were based on the neurofunctional modulations induced by psilocybin, considering that psilocybin acts mainly as a serotonergic agonist, with selective affinity for the 5-HT2A receptors located in the following cortical systems, so from this these parallels were made with:

  • Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) – executive control and metacognition
  • Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) – self processing and DMN
  • Primary and associative visual cortex (V1–V5) – visual perception
  • Posterior parietal cortex – sensorimotor and spatial integration
  • Insular cortex – interoception and body awareness
  • Thalamus – modulation of sensory flow

Main effects:

  • Disintegration of the Default Mode Network (DMN)
  • Increased global connectivity (cross-modal hyperconnectivity)
  • Reduced top-down connectivity and increased bottom-up connectivity
  • Sensory hyperarousal of associative regions (visual and somatosensory)
Given this survey, tests were carried out in this first experiment, mainly varying colors, shapes and patterns, but before that, the experience used with paintings made under induction of the substance was used as a basis and in this self-experiment it was noted that circular patterns gave more inductive effects, while stronger colors and sharpness were more a result of the experience. However, considering that the use of entheogens is an individual experience, several shapes, tones and patterns were tested. The following analysis of them:

Regarding rounded and organic shapes vs. straight and angular shapes, studies in neuroesthetics and functional neuroimaging show that curvilinear and organic shapes activate more intensely:

  • Area V4 of the associative visual cortex (specialized in the perception of color and shape)
  • Medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) – associated with aesthetic pleasure and visual reward
  • Temporoparietal regions – implicated in perceptual fluidity and natural pattern recognition


Regarding psilocybin, there is a tendency towards a perceptual appreciation of fluid patterns, derived from the desuppression of cortical filtering. Circular, spiral, fractal and continuously flowing forms are perceived as more "natural", "intellectually engaging" and emotionally resonant.

Intensified and Iridescent Colors

  • The parvocellular visual pathway (color and fine details) becomes more active than the magnocellular pathway (movement and contrast).
  • Cortex V4 and V8 are hyperactive, leading to an intensification of color perception, especially those in the violet-green-blue spectrum and chromatic variations associated with subtle gradients and iridescence.
  • Colors gain a synesthetic character, evoking tactile or auditory sensations (perceptual cross-modality).

Note: fMRI studies show that color perception under psychedelics is related to increased neural entropy in visual and temporal regions (Atasoy et al., 2017).


   

   



From the analyses mentioned above of shapes, colors and patterns, the purpose was to achieve spatial movement and body representation, as well as an immersion in displacing reality, considering that spatial perception and body representation in space under psilocybin is modulated by:

  • Temporary disorganization of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) – essential for visuospatial integration.
  • Hyperactivity of the vestibular and primary somatosensory cortex, resulting in distortions in proprioception and orientation.

Observable effects:

  • Changes in scale (micro/macroperception)
  • Sensation of fusion between body and environment (breaking of egoic corporeality)
  • Kinetic perception of space: the environment is felt as if it is in flux (e.g. breathing walls, pulsating floor)

This reorganization leads to selective visual attention for stimuli with wave-like, dynamic, and fluid movement qualities, even in static objects.



Sound




This sound specifically is a non-cadenced progression of 4 notes (voices) always changing by half a step one at a time. The file is duplicated and both have slow pitch oscillation in different cycles. Each synthesizer sounds in an audio track (right/left). The final mix has an eventide compressor/expander (Omnipressor) after the stereo phaser, so that the compression enhances small distortions and harmonics resulting from the phaser.





The use of a non-cadenced 4-note progression with semitone shifts as a microtonal and unresolved harmonic progression avoiding traditional cadences, creates a sense of tension and unpredictability. This is due to how psilocybin acts as an agonist of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor, leading to the desynchronization of neural patterns, specifically in the default mode network (DMN) and the prefrontal cortex. Considering this, a correlation has been made with non-linear thinking and the effects of alternating consciousness.

When two oscillators modulate pitch in separate cycles, beats and phase interference occur, creating an auditory illusion of movement and spatial displacement. From a neurodynamic perspective, when someone is on psilocybin, they often report temporal distortion, likely linked to disruptions in the thalamocortical circuits. The brain receives sensory input from multiple layers, often asynchronously. With this in mind, these sonic interferences were applied to mimic the temporal dysregulation and fragmented perception characteristic of altered states.

Binaural beats were applied to spatial detection and lateralization of sound stimuli processed in opposite hemispheres. This left/right separation served as an analogue for the subjective fragmentation of self and space, inspired by altered perception under the influence of psychedelics, which has been reported to involve split perception and hemispheric dissociation. Psilocybin may alter interhemispheric communication, contributing to these effects.

Finally, the stereo phaser applies shifts across the signal, creating moving notches in the frequency spectrum, and the compressor enhances harmonic content and nonlinearities. This was inspired by the psychoacoustic and neurochemical effects of psilocybin, which increase sensitivity to low-level sensory input, likely by reducing thalamic modulation. This often allows “invisible” harmonics or distortions to be perceived.