Skip to content

Christopher Timmermann

Imperial College London, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

92 papers in the library · 4,613 citations · publishing 2017-2026

Papers

Sort Most recent Most cited

Translation and Initial Psychometric Evaluation of Spanish Versions of Three Psychedelic Acute Effects Measures: Mystical, Challenging, and Insight Experiences

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs July 14, 2023 Christopher Timmermann, Aki Nikolaidis, Alan K. Davis et al. 4 citations

This study translated and tested the psychometric properties of acute psychedelic effects measures among Spanish-speaking people. The Psychological Insight Questionnaire (PIQ), Challenging Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), and Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) were translated before being incorporated into a web-based survey. We recruited native Spanish-speakers (N = 442; Mage = 30.8, SD...

Spatial Correspondence of LSD-Induced Variations on Brain Functioning at Rest With Serotonin Receptor Expression.

Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging July 1, 2023 Stefano Delli Pizzi, Piero Chiacchiaretta, Carlo Sestieri et al. 18 citations

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an atypical psychedelic compound that exerts its effects through pleiotropic actions, mainly involving 1A/2A serotoninergic (5-HT) receptor subtypes. However, the mechanisms by which LSD promotes a reorganization of the brain's functional activity and connectivity are still partially unknown. Our study analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance...

In vivo mapping of pharmacologically induced functional reorganization onto the human brain’s neurotransmitter landscape

Science Advances June 14, 2023 Leor Roseman, Christopher Timmermann, Daniel Golkowski et al. 65 citations

To understand how pharmacological interventions can exert their powerful effects on brain function, we need to understand how they engage the brain’s rich neurotransmitter landscape. Here, we bridge microscale molecular chemoarchitecture and pharmacologically induced macroscale functional reorganization, by relating the regional distribution of 19 neurotransmitter receptors and transporters...

Time-resolved network control analysis links reduced control energy under DMT with the serotonin 2a receptor, signal diversity, and subjective experience

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) May 12, 2023 S. Parker Singleton, Christopher Timmermann, Andrea I. Luppi et al. 18 citations preprint

Psychedelics offer a profound window into the functioning of the human brain and mind through their robust acute effects on perception, subjective experience, and brain activity patterns. In recent work using a receptor-informed network control theory framework, we demonstrated that the serotonergic psychedelics lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin flatten the brain's control energy...

Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America March 28, 2023 Christopher Timmermann, Leor Roseman, Sharad Haridas et al. 217 citations

Psychedelics have attracted medical interest, but their effects on human brain function are incompletely understood. In a comprehensive, within-subjects, placebo-controlled design, we acquired multimodal neuroimaging [i.e., EEG-fMRI (electroencephalography-functional MRI)] data to assess the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) on brain function in 20 healthy volunteers....

N,N‐dimethyltryptamine affects electroencephalography response in a concentration‐dependent manner—A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis

CPT Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology February 10, 2023 Emma Eckernäs, Christopher Timmermann, Robin Carhart-Harris et al. 15 citations

Abstract N,N‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic substance and is being used as a research tool in investigations of the neurobiology behind the human consciousness using different brain imaging techniques. The effects of psychedelics have commonly been studied using electroencephalography (EEG) and have been shown to produce suppression of alpha power and increase in signal diversity....

Safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamic and wellbeing effects of SPL026 (dimethyltryptamine fumarate) in healthy participants: a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1 trial.

Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023 Ellen James, David Erritzøe, Tiffanie Benway et al. 16 citations

Due to their potential impact on mood and wellbeing there has been increasing interest in the potential of serotonergic psychedelics such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of Part A of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile of escalating doses of SPL026 (DMT fumarate)...

Canalization and plasticity in psychopathology

Neuropharmacology December 27, 2022 Robin Carhart-Harris, Shamil Chandaria, David Erritzøe et al. 106 citations

This theoretical article revives a classical bridging construct, canalization, to describe a new model of a general factor of psychopathology. To achieve this, we have distinguished between two types of plasticity, an early one that we call 'TEMP' for 'Temperature or Entropy Mediated Plasticity', and another, we call 'canalization', which is close to Hebbian plasticity. These two forms of...

A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics

Trends in Cognitive Sciences December 22, 2022 Christopher Timmermann, Prisca R. Bauer, Olivia Gosseries et al. 145 citations

No contemporary unifying framework has been provided for the study of non-ordinary states of consciousness (NSCs) despite increased interest in hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics. NSCs induce shifts in experiential contents (what appears to the experiencer) and/or structure (how it appears). This can allow the investigation of the plastic and dynamic nature of experience from a multiscale...

Body mass index (BMI) does not predict responses to psilocybin

Journal of Psychopharmacology November 14, 2022 Meg J. Spriggs, Bruna Giribaldi, Taylor Lyons et al. 15 citations

Background: Psilocybin is a serotonin type 2A (5-HT 2A ) receptor agonist and naturally occurring psychedelic. 5-HT 2A receptor density is known to be associated with body mass index (BMI), however, the impact of this on psilocybin therapy has not been explored. While body weight-adjusted dosing is widely used, this imposes a practical and financial strain on the scalability of psychedelic...

Psychedelics and schizophrenia: Distinct alterations to Bayesian inference.

Neuroimage November 1, 2022 Hardik Rajpal, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Fernando E. Rosas et al. 23 citations

Schizophrenia and states induced by certain psychotomimetic drugs may share some physiological and phenomenological properties, but they differ in fundamental ways: one is a crippling chronic mental disease, while the others are temporary, pharmacologically-induced states presently being explored as treatments for mental illnesses. Building towards a deeper understanding of these different...

Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review

The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology October 21, 2022 James J Gattuso, Daniel Perkins, Simon Ruffell et al. 233 citations

Abstract Psychedelics are a unique class of drug that commonly produce vivid hallucinations as well as profound psychological and mystical experiences. A grouping of interconnected brain regions characterized by increased temporal coherence at rest have been termed the Default Mode Network (DMN). The DMN has been the focus of numerous studies assessing its role in self-referencing, mind...

Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations.

Transcultural Psychiatry October 1, 2022 Christopher Timmermann, Rosalind Watts, David Dupuis 112 citations

A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may drive important therapeutic benefits,...

Population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling of the psychedelic experience induced by N,N‐dimethyltryptamine – Implications for dose considerations

Clinical and Translational Science September 11, 2022 Emma Eckernäs, Christopher Timmermann, Daniel Röshammar et al. 22 citations

Abstract N,N‐dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic compound that is believed to have potential as a therapeutic option in several psychiatric disorders. The number of clinical investigations with DMT is increasing. However, very little is known about the pharmacokinetic properties of DMT as well as any relationship between its exposure and effects. This study aimed to characterize...

The Watts Connectedness Scale: a new scale for measuring a sense of connectedness to self, others, and world

Psychopharmacology August 8, 2022 Rosalind Watts, Hannes Kettner, Dana Geerts et al. 159 citations

Abstract Rationale A general feeling of disconnection has been associated with mental and emotional suffering. Improvements to a sense of connectedness to self, others and the wider world have been reported by participants in clinical trials of psychedelic therapy. Such accounts have led us to a definition of the psychological construct of ‘connectedness’ as ‘a state of feeling connected to...

Mapping Pharmacologically-induced Functional Reorganisation onto the Brain’s Neurotransmitter Landscape

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 13, 2022 Andrea I. Luppi, Justine Y. Hansen, Ram Adapa et al. 5 citations preprint

Abstract To understand how pharmacological interventions can exert their powerful effects on brain function, we need to understand how they engage the brain’s rich neurotransmitter landscape. Here, we bridge microscale molecular chemoarchitecture and pharmacologically-induced macroscale functional reorganisation, by relating the regional distribution of 19 neurotransmitter receptors and...

Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience.

Scientific Reports May 24, 2022 David Wyndham Lawrence, Robin Carhart-Harris, Roland R. Griffiths et al. 64 citations

Understanding the phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N, dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience is critical to facilitate and support ongoing research and therapeutic models targeting mental health conditions and central nervous system pathology. A qualitative analysis was conducted of all N, N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community over a 10-year period from 2009 to...

Phenomenology and Content of the Inhaled N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) Experience

Research Square April 28, 2022 David Wyndham Lawrence, Robin Carhart-Harris, Roland R. Griffiths et al. 2 citations

Abstract Background: Understanding the phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N, dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience is critical to facilitate and support ongoing research and therapeutic models targeting mental health conditions and central nervous system pathology. Methods: Qualitative analysis of all N, N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community over a 10-year period...

Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression.

Nat Med April 11, 2022 Richard E. Daws, Christopher Timmermann, Bruna Giribaldi et al. 432 citations

Psilocybin therapy shows antidepressant potential, but its therapeutic actions are not well understood. We assessed the subacute impact of psilocybin on brain function in two clinical trials of depression. The first was an open-label trial of orally administered psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg, 7 d apart) in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)...

The epidemiology of mescaline use: Pattern of use, motivations for consumption, and perceived consequences, benefits, and acute and enduring subjective effects.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) March 1, 2022 Malin Vedøy Uthaug, Alan K. Davis, Trevor Forrest Haas et al. 64 citations

Mescaline is a naturally occurring psychoactive phenethylamine found in several cacti and historically used ceremonially by Indigenous and Latin American populations. Broader recognition of its possible therapeutic value in Western science began in the 1950s; however, knowledge of the safety profile of mescaline and the extent of its use remains limited. The primary aim of this study is to...

Development and application of a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and two of its metabolites in human plasma.

J Pharm Biomed Anal February 3, 2022 Emma Eckernäs, Adam Bendrioua, Chiara Cancellerini et al. 18 citations

Development and application of a highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous quantification of N,N-dimethyltryptamine and two of its metabolites in human plasma.

Validation of the Psychological Insight Scale: A new scale to assess psychological insight following a psychedelic experience.

J Psychopharmacol January 5, 2022 Joseph Peill, Katie Trinci, Hannes Kettner et al. 135 citations

Validation of the Psychological Insight Scale: A new scale to assess psychological insight following a psychedelic experience.

Effects of classic psychedelic drugs on turbulent signatures in brain dynamics

Network Neuroscience 2022 Josephine Cruzat, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Anira Escrichs et al. 28 citations

Abstract Psychedelic drugs show promise as safe and effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders, yet their mechanisms of action are not fully understood. A fundamental hypothesis is that psychedelics work by dose-dependently changing the functional hierarchy of brain dynamics, but it is unclear whether different psychedelics act similarly. Here, we investigated the changes in the...

Psychedelics alter metaphysical beliefs.

Scientific Reports November 23, 2021 Christopher Timmermann, Hannes Kettner, Chris Letheby et al. 208 citations

Can the use of psychedelic drugs induce lasting changes in metaphysical beliefs? While it is popularly believed that they can, this question has never been formally tested. Here we exploited a large sample derived from prospective online surveying to determine whether and how beliefs concerning the nature of reality, consciousness, and free-will, change after psychedelic use. Results revealed...

Losing the Self in Near-Death Experiences: The Experience of Ego-Dissolution.

Brain Sciences July 14, 2021 Charlotte Martial, Géraldine Fontaine, Olivia Gosseries et al. 37 citations

Many people who have had a near-death experience (NDE) describe, as part of it, a disturbed sense of having a "distinct self". However, no empirical studies have been conducted to explore the frequency or intensity of these effects. We surveyed 100 NDE experiencers (Near-Death-Experience Content [NDE-C] scale total score ≥27/80). Eighty participants had their NDEs in life-threatening situations...