Psychedelics open a new window on the mechanisms of perception

Hallucinatory drugs may allow our brains to let go of prior beliefs. Could psychedelics have the potential to teach us about the inner workings of the brain’s most complex inner workings? Anil Ananthaswamy, a science journalist, explores how a small group of neuroscientists are considering whether hallucinations could help us better understand how the brain produces perceptions. Here, he reveals how these studies are starting to support a provocative, century-old hypothesis.