Dynamic Functional Hyperconnectivity After Psilocybin Intake Is Primarily Associated With Oceanic Boundlessness.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging July 1, 2024 Sepehr Mortaheb, Larry D. Fort, Natasha L. Mason et al. 15 citations
Psilocybin produces profound alterations in both brain connectivity and subjective experience. In a randomized study, healthy volunteers received psilocybin or placebo and underwent ultrahigh field 7T fMRI scanning during the peak drug effect. Psilocybin caused widespread increases in averaged brain functional connectivity and a recurrent hyperconnected brain pattern with low blood oxygen level-dependent signal amplitude, suggesting heightened cortical arousal. This hyperconnected pattern was linked to feelings of oceanic boundlessness and visionary restructuralization. The brain's tendency to enter this hyperconnected-hyperarousal state may underlie the variant mental associations characteristic of the psychedelic experience.