In this interview, Brian Pace interviews Dr. Jason Slot at Ohio State University. In the show, they talk about Jason’s contributions of the psilocybe genus. Jason is in the faculty at OSU in the department of plant pathology. 3 Key Points: There are over 200 species of mushroom forming fungi that produce psilocybin, and Jason studies how and why these organisms produce the psychoactive compound. Animals seek altered states of consciousness as a potential evolutionary mechanism. Mushrooms use horizontal gene transfer to pass on their psychoactive properties. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Show Notes About Jason "There weren't many mycology job postings in the area, and a job came up for someone to study the evolution of fungal genomes" - Jason It all just fell into place What is Neurochemical Ecology Ecology is the interaction among organisms and their interaction with their environment Neurochemical ecology is a special case where the chemicals are specifically targeted to processes of nervous systems in animals There is an opportunity for plants and fungi to produce drugs and compounds that manipulate their behavior or inhibit their eating Species that Produce Psilocybin There are over 200 species of mushroom forming fungi that produce psilocybin Jason has found many more Distribution of Psilocybe Mushrooms were anatomically modern There were flowering forests and wood that spanned to each of the poles The supercontinent would have broken up after that and as the continents separated, so did the mushrooms Humans have been distributing psilocybe through the dung of migrating animals Columbian Exchange During colonization from the old world to the new world, there was the biggest exchange of fungi If the amount of biomass and dung expands, then the number of fungi species evolves and grows The underlying change in the climate that changes the planet from forested to open grasslands also has an impact During human evolution, psilocybe has been around the whole time These neurochemicals have dated human genus Serotonin Serotonin is analogous to psilocybin Bacteria was the first organism making serotonin Insects produce serotonin “Serotonin is a great key, it fits into a lot of different locks and is used in a lot of different ways” - Jason It's in plants, its in amoebas, and its in animals In animals, they have specialized a lot of different receptors that respond to serotonin Serotonin only interacts with one type of receptor in the body Altered States of Consciousness “It must be like something to be a bat, and it must be different than what it's like to be a human, what must it be like to be a bat under the influence of psilocybin, is it anything like a human?” -Brian Animals seek altered states of consciousness Bees seek out fermented grapes We have video footage of foxes taking huge bites out of Amanita Muscaria Seeking out intoxication is a natural human drive Maybe the desire to seek out these altered states of consciousness is an evolutionary mechanism that is happening If you search out new ways of perceiving the world, you may come upon a new pattern that your group of species learns how to live better If ants come back to the hive too drunk, they get punished and get bit Language One of the ways humans distinguish ourselves We have specialized vocal chords, and tongues that make our language unique Terrence - Stoned Ape Theory - the thesis was that psilocybin mushrooms were a part of the diets of the hominids There was some kind of co-evolutionary relationship that may have resulted in human language Psilocybin’s role in our development “What kind of role did psilocybin mushrooms play in our development?” The hominids came down from the trees and now they are standing upright W