Comment by rsynnott

>That’s where researchers investigating “mushroom madness” ultimately dismissed the accounts as cultural myth after chemical tests turned up nothing. Makes sense since the species wasn’t formally described until 2015. [..] Domnauer visited Yunnan’s mushroom markets and asked vendors which of these mushrooms is the one that’s making people see little people? All the vendors said L. asiatica.

This is a surprisingly common research failure mode. Actually talking to people is important.

> Genetic testing confirmed its identity, and lab studies showed that extracts cause dramatic behavioral changes in mice

Presumably, causing them to see little mice.