Positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose studies of metabolic hyperfrontality and psychopathology in the psilocybin model of psychosis
This early (1997) study looked at the effects of psylocybin/psilocin in the brain through a PET scan and found increases in metabolis (CMRglu) that correlated with the experienced 'psychotic' (psychedelic) effects.
Authors
- Franz Vollenweider
Published
Abstract
The effects of the indolehallucinogen psilocybin, a mixed 5-HT2 and 5-HT1 agonist, on regional cerebral glucose metabolism were investigated in 10 healthy volunteers with PET and [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) prior to and following a 15-or 20-mg dose of psilocybin. Psychotomimetic doses of psilocybin were found to produce a global increase in cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglu) with significant and most marked increases in the frontomedial and frontolateral cortex (24.3%), anterior ungulate (24.9%), and temporomedial cortex (25.3%). Somewhat smaller increases of CMRglu were found in the basal ganglia (18.5%), and the smallest increases were found in the sensorimotor (14.7%) and occipital cortex (14.4%). The increases of CMRglu in the prefrontal cortex anterior cingulate, temporomedial cortex, and putamen correlated positively with psychotic symptom formation, in particular with hallucinatory ego disintegration. The present data suggest that excessive 5-HT2 receptor activation results in a hyperfrontal metabolic pattern that parallels comparable metabolic findings associated with acute psychotic episodes in schizophrenics and contrasts with the hypofrontality in chronic schizophrenic patients.
Research Summary of 'Positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose studies of metabolic hyperfrontality and psychopathology in the psilocybin model of psychosis'
Introduction
Earlier research implicated the serotonergic system in psychedelic and endogenous psychotic states because of structural similarities between psilocybin, LSD and serotonin and because these drugs appear to exert effects via 5-HT2 receptor activation. Positron emission tomography (PET) with [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) allows direct investigation of regional cerebral glucose metabolism (CMRglu) and thereby offers a way to link receptor pharmacology, regional brain activity, and phenomenology. Previous PET studies in schizophrenia have reported heterogeneous findings (hypofrontality in many chronic patients, but hyperfrontality in some acute cases), prompting hypotheses that acute psychotic symptom formation may be associated with increased frontal activity and altered cortico‑striato‑thalamic (CST) loops. Vollenweider and colleagues set out to use the psilocybin model of psychosis in healthy volunteers to test whether excessive serotonergic activation produces a hyperfrontal metabolic pattern and whether such metabolic changes correlate with psychotomimetic symptoms, in particular ego disturbance and hallucinations. The study therefore combined psychometric assessment with FDG‑PET imaging to compare baseline and psilocybin states within subjects and to relate regional metabolic changes to measures of altered consciousness and schizophrenia‑like symptoms.
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Study Details
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- APA Citation
Vollenweider, F. (1997). Positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose studies of metabolic hyperfrontality and psychopathology in the psilocybin model of psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology, 16(5), 357-372. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(96)00246-1
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