Neuroimaging & Brain MeasuresLSD

Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD

Using connectome-harmonic decomposition, the authors show that LSD selectively alters the energy and power of harmonic brain states, expanding the repertoire of active states and increasing non-random cross-frequency co‑activation. The frequency distribution of these active states follows power laws, indicating a reorganisation of brain dynamics towards the edge of criticality.

Authors

  • Robin Carhart-Harris
  • Leor Roseman
  • Mendel Kaelen

Published

Scientific Reports
individual Study

Abstract

Recent studies have started to elucidate the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on the human brain but the underlying dynamics are not yet fully understood. Here we used ’connectome-harmonic decomposition’, a novel method to investigate the dynamical changes in brain states. We found that LSD alters the energy and the power of individual harmonic brain states in a frequency-selective manner. Remarkably, this leads to an expansion of the repertoire of active brain states, suggestive of a general re-organization of brain dynamics given the non-random increase in co-activation across frequencies. Interestingly, the frequency distribution of the active repertoire of brain states under LSD closely follows power-laws indicating a re-organization of the dynamics at the edge of criticality. Beyond the present findings, these methods open up for a better understanding of the complex brain dynamics in health and disease.

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Research Summary of 'Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD'

Introduction

Atasoy and colleagues situate their work in a context where modern neuroimaging has begun to reveal the correlates of the psychedelic state but the spatio-temporal dynamics that underlie LSD's effects on whole-brain activity remain incompletely understood. Previous fMRI and MEG studies reported increased visual cortex blood flow, greater whole-brain functional integration and broad decreases in oscillatory power under LSD, and theoretical accounts have proposed that psychedelics broaden the repertoire of brain states. However, the field has lacked mathematical tools tailored to characterise how cortical activity patterns, constrained by structural connectivity, reconfigure under psychedelics. This study introduces and applies a connectome-harmonic decomposition method to resting-state fMRI data collected under LSD and placebo in order to test whether LSD alters the energy and power of frequency-specific brain states, whether it expands the repertoire of active brain states, how cross-frequency interactions change, and whether these changes move whole-brain dynamics closer to criticality (the balance between order and disorder). The authors aim to link these objective dynamical measures to subjective experience and to network-level functional connectivity changes.

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Study Details

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Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain... — Research Summary & Context | Blossom