Does Psilocybin affect our pheromonal signature?

[Dr. Fungus]

Test into a natural insect repellent properties of the intoxicated body


After almost two years of continuous and documented observations, here comes the time to share them with the bigger crowd.

I collected and documented direct observations of 20 people who, while under the mushroom spell, reported that regardless of the fact they were fully exposed to environment rich with all sorts of parasitic insects (mosquitoes, flees, so on), on each and every occasion, they didn't receive a single bite.

I concur that I myself tried the idea five times, spending outdoor nights while manageably inebriated in shorts and short sleeve t-shirt,in the middle of May, next to sober people who were asked to be a true guinea pigs and refrain from using any repellents. The uninibriated party soon fled the scene due to inability to sustain the itching and growing concern for the number of critters descending to have free snack at the expense of my curiosity and their friendship.

Each of these cases indicated that insects avoid consuming the blood of people who took moderate to high doses of the Psilocybin. I have not had a chance to check other tryptamines for the same properties.

Any one can pitch in to confirm or contradict are absolutely welcome!

I checked blogs and academic reports (Heffter, Erowid and MAPS, along with few other well-reputed sources to start with), but perhaps someone knows about a formal (or not) research that revealed the same peculiar fact?

I think if there is a bigger pool of sample data available, this might pave way for a academic research into neuropharmacology of the psylocybin-inebriated body and how/if any lymphatic, endocrine or pheromone-secreting systems and their functions are affected by Psilocybin. After all, it as an aromatic compound.


Thank you all,

Dr. Fungus

 

[Infineon]

I am somewhat interested in the outcome of this...are insects repelled in any way by any given mushroom?

because if they are(by the majority of mushrooms) then it must mean that they contain a substance that is a natural repellent...does it work with other mushrooms? if the test subject would ingest different types of mushrooms to see if they have the same effect?

 

[Infineon]

just asking, because you go directly from the assumption that psilocybin is causing this

 

[Dr. Fungus]

are insects repelled in any way by any given mushroom?

apparently, by any variety containing the tryptamine

There were also several post-factum notations that people sensed a strange smell coming from their bodies, but could not pin it, as if the smell itself was too elusive to describe.

Other than that, the effect manifests itself above the sub-hallucinogenic threshold, if commercial stropharia was used, the effect was triggered by anything above 3 gr of dried material, if wild wood-loving species were used, a common potency chart was used to measure the dose and there I will have to pull the charts to get you exact specification for each particular case; but effect is consistently present at and above a medium to high dose of psylocybin.

 

[Infineon]

but did you try to extract psilocybin, maybe mix with a simulated sweat substance and see if it somehow reacts and sets free some kind of radical that would cause this?...

 

[anrchy]

this is awesome! i would love to contribute to this study!

 

[Dr. Fungus]

but did you try to extract psilocybin, maybe mix with a simulated sweat substance and see if it somehow reacts and sets free some kind of radical that would cause this?...

no, that would invite a graver consequences!

I never administered anything, just observed, and never asked where the "study materials" came from, and from whom.
If collected and tested in the wild, it was done at the mercy of knowledgeable myco-scouts, who located and accurately identified the wood-loving and non-coprophilic species.

 

[anrchy]

were the activity of the insects also observed?

Also, how about diet and all the other things that could contribute?

 

[Dr. Fungus]

Yes, William S. Burroughs WAS ONTO SOMETHING - if you recall in the Naked Lunch, if one injects the pesticide and then exhale onto a cockroach, it will fall off dead

But in any case, the insects would not even come near us, only those derailed beatles would bump in, but those were just drunk of patio light, in darkness, you were completely ignored by any exoskeletal life all together.

What amazes me in this situation though, that how consistent the effect was for everyone affected. I am talking river and lake lands in the mid Summer, with night air teaming with insect life, from huge moths and plate-size butterflies to myriads of hungry singing bloodsuckers - and not one bite!

ADD: Nope, no particular dietary preferences or similarities were noticed - some people were vegetarians, some not.

 

[benzyme]

i see no mention of a control group

 

[Parshvik Chintan]

i see no mention of a control group

this
also i remember quite recently a report where someone got bit by a mosquito while tripping, and the mosquito got noticeably inebriated as a result, he even went back for seconds .

 

[Global]

I dunno about insect repellent, but from my understanding of pheromones, part of the formula is that being in different emotional states creates the release of different pheromones. Since psilocybin facilitates changes in emotional states constantly, perhaps pheromone output would be directly affected.

 

[Dr. Fungus]

I dunno about insect repellent, but from my understanding of pheromones, part of the formula is that being in different emotional states creates the release of different pheromones. Since psilocybin facilitates changes in emotional states constantly, perhaps pheromone output would be directly affected.

It is an interesting idea indeed, but I think using Occam's razor rule in explaining the phenomena leads to conclusion (and there are two scientific opinions I obtained that are backing this position: one of biochemist, another - pharmacognosist) that it is either lymphatic, endocrine or pheromonal response of serotonergic depots within the synaptic agitation range by psylocybin, causing these systems to over-activate. Being a true hematofilic parasites, mosquitoes' ability to detect any deviations in a normal biological profile of the host is the questions of life or death. If the insect misinterprets this "signature" due to changes caused by the tryptamine, it might consider such masking a sign that food is not fresh or edible anymore, given we can take as a working assumption that blood-sucking insects posses yet undiscovered ability to sense such metabolic processes via some unique sense or other means, therefore treating inebriated person or animal as potentially "hazardous" target who is in the process of detoxifying from perhaps a harmful substance and therefore is not worth risk of eating. This could be a simple evolutionary defense mechanism that spares both parties from unnecessary poisoning.

Otherwise we have to look for a mechanism of action that is so dramatically prominent in our biochemistry, that even such common parasites will react to it.

Indirect body byproducts triggered by initial onset could also be the culprit. A good analysis in the lab would probably untangle this knot, most likely something simple. But secondary biochemical response is probably more interesting candidate here.

Effective doses of 5 gr or more secured people from any parasitic assault from the onset into the following day, but effect can't be observed past 24 hours.

Just like ibogaine results in extended production of new chemical in the body called Noribogaine, or 12-hydroxyibogamine, and which is attributed to prolonged anti-addictive healing and lasting spiritual transformation in the patients who take it, perhaps psylocybin plays similar role in how it changes our biochemistry, so maybe MAO does play a crucial role in dismantling whatever compound forms as a result of a process taking place within the body akin to some sort of decarboxylation or similar metabolic event, for lack of a better term.

 

[benzyme]

developing hypotheses and anecdotal theories is all fun and good, and we can discuss metabolic/catabolic mechanisms 'til the cows come home. experiments speak louder than theories, and you've done them...but a well-designed experiment includes standards/controls, to rule out bias.

 

[Dr. Fungus]

As I stated initially, I only collected and documented cases of 20 people, there was no further investigation done, given the remote circumstances, aside from basic vitals taken and recorded. There was never an objective nor the ability (scientific or legal) to establish any formal field framework scenario to conduct an experiment in a classic scientific sense. We would need to obtain substantial physiological and accurate data and observe and indicate any environmental factors to take this further.

The goal was to establish whether affected and sober people, while being present simultaneously in the same environment, are subjected to the same "mosquito situation". Within this idea and approach, all documented cases had a success criteria that corresponded to what could be broadly defined as standards, while basic vital measurements and general prior knowledge of participants' health history gave some scope of references to work with in making a preliminary assessment for each case. All participants filled out questionnaires I designed for before and after collection of input. This also included non-inebriated people, however their stories were trivial and short - not many were able to remain outside without any repellent applied. Two people out of the sample group were diabetic and also provided the glucose levels (unaffected) before and after the event.

Surveys contained some general noninvasive questions about family health history, personal health (past/present), so on - very generic. It was targeting a general profile from which I could hope to find another round(s) of other shared criteria. All this was methodically documented prior to and during the initial activities, and then supplemented later on with the feedback from me and each participant.

 

[Sandtrout]

HBWR left a friend and I to realize and say to each other simultaneously, "They're landing, but they're not biting!" -- we were talking about mosquitos of course.

Pure anecdose.

 

[Dr. Fungus]

Chemistry Rule # 1 - Never lick the spoon

 

[River of Thoughts]

It seems like you create a bond with all of nature through shrooms and dmt. For example, I discovered while on pharmaya&changa; I put my hand(whole palm) accidentally on poison ivy and it did not sting me at all, it was on the plant for a good 5-10min when I realized after I looked where my hand was. My brother was sober and he was the one that told me to take my hand off the plant and he tested his pinky and he had an instant reaction.

 

[lyserge]

^apparently mescaline and other phenethylamines are considered by biologists to act as insecticides for the cacti that produce them. Nicotine kills bugs such as ticks or leeches (soak several cigarettes' worth of tobacco in a few ounces of water with a teaspoon of salt for an effective insecticide). The cocaine alkaloid has similar properties. It wouldn't surprise me if psilocybin or other tryptamines had similar properties.

 

[Global]

It seems like you create a bond with all of nature through shrooms and dmt. For example, I discovered while on pharmaya&changa; I put my hand(whole palm) accidentally on poison ivy and it did not sting me at all, it was on the plant for a good 5-10min when I realized after I looked where my hand was. My brother was sober and he was the one that told me to take my hand off the plant and he tested his pinky and he had an instant reaction.

Well I don't know if you've ever had a bad reaction to poison ivy before, but some people just aren't allergic to it. If you've never had an outbreak before, there could be a very good possibility that you're one of the ones who simply will never have an averse reaction to poison ivy.