Psilocybin desynchronizes the human brain

Abstract

A single dose of psilocybin, a psychedelic that acutely causes distortions of space–time perception and ego dissolution, produces rapid and persistent therapeutic effects in human clinical trials 1–4 . In animal models, psilocybin induces neuroplasticity in cortex and hippocampus 5–8 . It remains unclear how human brain network changes relate to subjective and lasting effects of psychedelics. Here we tracked individual-specific brain changes with longitudinal precision functional mapping (roughly 18 magnetic resonance imaging visits per participant). Healthy adults were tracked before, during and for 3 weeks after high-dose psilocybin (25 mg) and methylphenidate (40 mg), and brought back for an additional psilocybin dose 6–12 months later. Psilocybin massively disrupted functional connectivity (FC) in cortex and subcortex, acutely causing more than threefold greater change than methylphenidate. These FC changes were driven by brain desynchronization across spatial scales (areal, global), which dissolved network distinctions by reducing correlations within and anticorrelations between networks. Psilocybin-driven FC changes were strongest in the default mode network, which is connected to the anterior hippocampus and is thought to create our sense of space, time and self. Individual differences in FC changes were strongly linked to the subjective psychedelic experience. Performing a perceptual task reduced psilocybin-driven FC changes. Psilocybin caused persistent decrease in FC between the anterior hippocampus and default mode network, lasting for weeks. Persistent reduction of hippocampal-default mode network connectivity may represent a neuroanatomical and mechanistic correlate of the proplasticity and therapeutic effects of psychedelics.

Full text

Its licence does not allow us to show the full text. Read it at PubMed Central:

References 67

1. 1.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1016/j.pharmthera.2003.11.002

2. 2.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1097/00001756-199812010-00024

3. 3.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1056/nejmoa2032994

4. 4.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1016/s2215-0366(16)30065-7

5. 5.
   Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder · 2021

   No notice
6. 6.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1056/nejmoa2206443

7. 7.
   Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial · 2016

   No notice
8. 8.
   Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial · 2016

   No notice
9. 9.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library10.1038/npp.2017.84

10. 10.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/s0893-133x(98)00089-x

11. 11.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/s0893-133x(96)00246-1

12. 12.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1523/jneurosci.2063-13.2013

13. 13.
    Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG · 2019

    No notice
14. 14.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1007/7854_2017_479

15. 15.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1523/jneurosci.17-08-02785.1997

16. 16.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.022

17. 17.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1038/s41586-020-3008-z

18. 18.
    A Single Dose of Psilocybin Increases Synaptic Density and Decreases 5-HT2A Receptor Density in the Pig Brain · 2021

    No notice
19. 19.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2021.06.008

20. 20.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.tins.2020.11.008

21. 21.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1073/pnas.2101743118

22. 22.
    Hippocampal Neuroinflammation, Functional Connectivity, and Depressive Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis · 2016

    No notice
23. 23.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.011

24. 24.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.035

25. 25.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2015.06.037

26. 26.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2020.05.007

27. 27.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1093/cercor/bhu239

28. 28.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2019.11.012

29. 29.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.010

30. 30.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1073/pnas.0504136102

31. 31.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1073/pnas.1119598109

32. 32.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1073/pnas.1518377113

33. 33.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1002/hbm.22557

34. 34.
    The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study: Imaging acquisition across 21 sites · 2018

    Not checked
35. 35.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1177/0269881108093587

36. 36.
    Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period · 2023

    No notice
37. 37.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1101/2023.02.19.528997

38. 38.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1007/7854_2021_298

39. 39.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1038/s41598-018-26329-0

40. 40.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library10.1523/jneurosci.2830-16.2016

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.