Healthy VolunteersNeuroimaging & Brain MeasuresPsilocybin

Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin

Using arterial spin labelling and BOLD fMRI in healthy volunteers, intravenous psilocybin produced widespread decreases in cerebral blood flow and BOLD signal that were maximal in hub regions (thalamus, ACC, PCC and mPFC), with reduced mPFC activity predicting the intensity of subjective effects. The drug also decreased functional coupling between mPFC and PCC, suggesting psychedelic phenomenology arises from diminished activity and connectivity of key network hubs, permitting a state of unconstrained cognition.

Authors

  • Robin Carhart-Harris
  • David Nutt
  • David Erritzoe

Published

PNAS
individual Study

Abstract

Psychedelic drugs have a long history of use in healing ceremonies, but despite renewed interest in their therapeutic potential, we continue to know very little about how they work in the brain. Here we used psilocybin, a classic psychedelic found in magic mushrooms, and a task-free functional MRI (fMRI) protocol designed to capture the transition from normal waking consciousness to the psychedelic state. Arterial spin labeling perfusion and blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI were used to map cerebral blood flow and changes in venous oxygenation before and after intravenous infusions of placebo and psilocybin. Fifteen healthy volunteers were scanned with arterial spin labeling and a separate 15 with BOLD. As predicted, profound changes in consciousness were observed after psilocybin, but surprisingly, only decreases in cerebral blood flow and BOLD signal were seen, and these were maximal in hub regions, such as the thalamus and anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC and PCC). Decreased activity in the ACC/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was a consistent finding and the magnitude of this decrease predicted the intensity of the subjective effects. Based on these results, a seed-based pharmaco-physiological interaction/functional connectivity analysis was performed using a medial prefrontal seed. Psilocybin caused a significant decrease in the positive coupling between the mPFC and PCC. These results strongly imply that the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs are caused by decreased activity and connectivity in the brain's key connector hubs, enabling a state of unconstrained cognition.

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Research Summary of 'Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin'

Introduction

Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin have a long history of ritual and therapeutic use, yet their neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. Earlier work has characterised the phenomenology of psilocybin and implicated serotonergic (particularly 5-HT2A) receptors, but direct, high-resolution imaging of the transition from normal waking consciousness into the psychedelic state has been lacking. Carhart-Harris and colleagues set out to characterise the neural correlates of the acute psychedelic state using task-free functional MRI. They combined arterial spin labelling (ASL) perfusion and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI to map cerebral blood flow (CBF) and BOLD changes before and after intravenous infusions of placebo and psilocybin, aiming to capture short‑latency, phasic effects produced by a 2 mg i.v. dose that begins acting within seconds and peaks within minutes. The study focused on resting-state activity and connectivity, with particular attention to high-level association regions and connector hubs such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and thalamus.

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