In 1934, a group of travelers came to Papua New Guinea in search of new experiences. They expected to find a different culture, but they couldn’t have imagined what they saw: a bunch of crazy people, claiming they saw little pixies running around. Apparently, it all started when they ate a wild mushroom called “Nanda”. That episode was called Mushroom Madness and was recorded as a local anecdote. However, over the years, similar cases were detected in places like China and the Philippines.
During all this time, it was impossible to identify what was causing the hallucinations. They didn’t know about the wild mushrooms that are found all over the affected areas. But scientists at the University of Utah recently pointed to a possible culprit. After all, its discovery, beyond common anecdotes, may help treat some health problems.
History repeats itself. Decades after what happened in Papua New Guinea, some scientists became interested in finding the compound responsible for Lilliputian hallucinations. Albert Hoffman himself, the discoverer of LSD; It was investigating. But when the locals analyzed the mushrooms identified as culprits, they found nothing.
The story was temporarily forgotten, but the case was reopened in the 90s, when the first case was reported in Yunnan (China). And later in 2024, when it happened again in an indigenous community in the northern Philippines. These more recent stories have become less confusing, so science has finally been able to identify the mushroom responsible.
Two out of three. Scientists at the University of Utah analyzed the DNA of mushrooms from China and the Philippines and found that, although their local names were different, the species was the same: Asian Lanmawa. Whether this was the same as in Papua New Guinea remained to be tested. However, when the study authors traveled there, the drought was very severe and there were no mushrooms to pick. They had to return without identifying the fungus responsible, but hope to do so in the future. Perhaps it is the same.
an unknown substance. Once the mushroom was identified, all that remained was to find the psychoactive compound that caused the hallucinations. Mushrooms are expected to contain psilocybin or other common hallucinogenic substances. But they did not find any substance or substance suspected to cause such symptoms.
Jumping Pixies. All people who experience these hallucinations describe them in the same way. They see very small characters dressed in brightly colored clothes and with appearances like elves, elves, clowns or fairies. They follow the laws of physics when they go around obstacles, climb over objects, and if they climb over a table and cross its edge. In addition, he has curious behavior. For example, one sufferer reported that he saw a small person in his spoon, who jumped towards the bowl of soup and swam inside for a while.
It appears that hallucinations are not always caused by intentional consumption, as may be the case with some hallucinogenic mushrooms. In many cases it is eaten for its culinary value, but it is not well cooked. That’s when the problem started. In fact, the man who saw a leprechaun jumping onto his plate was actually drinking mushroom soup.
Other applications. Certain illnesses, such as macular degeneration, dementia, or alcohol withdrawal, can cause this type of hallucination. Utah scientists believe that if the causes of hallucinations are identified, it will be easier to come up with methods to solve them. Therefore, it is essential for them to identify the substance in the mushroom that is causing this problem. This has not been possible at the moment, but perhaps this will be resolved with a trip to Papua New Guinea next year.
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