Increased low-frequency brain responses to music after psilocybin therapy for depression
This neuroimaging study (n=19) used fMRI and ALFF techniques to assess the brain's response to music after administering psilocybin to participants with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). A comparison of treatment effects showed relative increases for the music scan in the bilateral superior temporal lobes and supramarginal gyrus, and relative decreases in the medial frontal lobes for the resting-state scan. ALFF in these music-related clusters was significantly correlated with the intensity of subjective effects felt during the dosing sessions implying an elevated response to music following psilocybin therapy.
Authors
- Robin Carhart-Harris
- David Nutt
- Leor Roseman
Published
Abstract
Background
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with psilocybin is an emerging therapy with great promise for depression, and modern psychedelic therapy (PT) methods incorporate music as a key element. Music is an effective emotional/hedonic stimulus that could also be useful in assessing changes in emotional responsiveness following PT.
Methods
Brain responses to music were assessed before and after PT using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and ALFF (Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations) analysis methods. Nineteen patients with treatment-resistant depression underwent two treatment sessions involving administration of psilocybin, with MRI data acquired one week prior and the day after completion of psilocybin dosing sessions.
Results
Comparison of music-listening and resting-state scans revealed significantly greater ALFF in bilateral superior temporal cortex for the post-treatment music scan, and in the right ventral occipital lobe for the post-treatment resting-state scan. ROI analyses of these clusters revealed a significant effect of treatment in the superior temporal lobe for the music scan only. Voxelwise comparison of treatment effects showed relative increases for the music scan in the bilateral superior temporal lobes and supramarginal gyrus, and relative decreases in the medial frontal lobes for the resting-state scan. ALFF in these music-related clusters was significantly correlated with intensity of subjective effects felt during the dosing sessions.
Limitations
Open-label trial. Relatively small sample size.
Conclusions
These data suggest an effect of PT on the brain's response to music, implying an elevated responsiveness to music after psilocybin therapy that was related to subjective drug effects felt during dosing.
Research Summary of 'Increased low-frequency brain responses to music after psilocybin therapy for depression'
Introduction
Wall and colleagues situate the study within renewed clinical interest in classic psychedelics such as psilocybin for disorders including depression. They note that music is an integral component of modern psychedelic-assisted therapy and that music acts as a hedonic, emotionally potent stimulus whose neural processing—particularly in auditory cortex and reward/limbic circuits—can index anhedonia, a core symptom of depression. Previous studies have reported reduced neural responses to music in depression and enhanced subjective and neural responses to music under classic psychedelics, but the specific impact of psilocybin therapy on brain responses to music in depressed patients remained incompletely characterised. This study set out to test whether psilocybin therapy alters low-frequency brain activity evoked by music in patients with treatment-resistant major depression. Using functional MRI and an ALFF (Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations) analysis to quantify slow spontaneous oscillations, the investigators compared music-listening and resting-state scans acquired one week before the first dosing and the day after the second (high-dose) dosing session. They also examined relationships between any ALFF changes and subjective measures obtained during and after therapy, aiming to assess whether acute drug-state experiences related to post-treatment changes in music-evoked brain responsiveness.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Wall, M. B., Lam, C., Ertl, N., Kaelen, M., Roseman, L., Nutt, D. J., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2023). Increased low-frequency brain responses to music after psilocybin therapy for depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 333, 321-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.04.081
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Cited By (1)
Papers in Blossom that reference this study
Erritzoe, D., Timmermann, C., Godfrey, K. et al. · Nature Mental Health (2024)
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