Schizophrenia Bulletin
June 8, 2016
Ben Alderson-Day, Kelly Diederen, Charles Fernyhough et al.
134 citations
Resting-state brain networks may help explain hallucinations across different sensory modalities and populations. This report from the International Consortium on Hallucination Research reviews evidence linking resting-state alterations to auditory hallucinations, finding connectivity differences in left-hemisphere auditory and language regions, plus atypical interactions of the default mode network with networks for cognitive control and salience. Similar patterns appear in visual hallucinations, suggesting both domain-general and modality-specific network changes. However, high methodological heterogeneity across studies limits direct comparisons. The authors offer recommendations for future research on resting-state connectivity and hallucinations.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.
Front Psychiatry
December 9, 2025
Haley Maria Dourron, Heith Copes, Daniel H. Grossman et al.
3 citations
People diagnosed with non-affective psychotic disorders who used psychedelics reported a mix of positive and negative effects. Common challenges during the acute experience included transient anxiety, sometimes leading to brief hospitalizations. Some participants described psychosis-specific experiences such as reduced self-stigma and insight into their hallucinations and delusions. Perceived long-term benefits varied widely, with some reporting lasting positive changes and others noting negative effects or no lasting impact. The findings suggest psychedelics may pose both risks and potential benefits for this population, highlighting the need for careful safety trials.
April 8, 2024
Saampras Ganesan, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Greg J Siegle et al.
2 citations
preprint
Meditation practices, which have been adapted into manualized interventions for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, show therapeutic promise, but their neuroscientific basis remains unclear. Current neuroimaging studies rely on small, heterogeneous datasets that vary in practice types, participant experience, clinical targets, and imaging methods, limiting generalizability and replicability. To address this, the ENIGMA-Meditation consortium was formed as a global collaboration to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and rigorously characterize the neural mechanisms underlying meditation's effects on psychological and cognitive attributes, advancing the field of contemplative neuroscience.
International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction
March 17, 2026
Haley Maria Dourron, Melissa Bradley, Heith Copes et al.
Interviews with 19 people diagnosed with non-affective psychotic disorders who had used psychedelics revealed that, while some similarities exist in altered thinking and meaning attribution, most participants reported that psychedelic experiences did not closely resemble their psychosis. Sensory alterations, emotional experience, sense of control, and self-experience were points of contrast. When asked which drug most resembled their psychotic symptoms, the majority endorsed cannabis, followed by dissociative anesthetics and stimulants. The findings suggest that psychedelics may not accurately model many symptoms of psychosis and that interpreting psychedelic experiences as broadly psychosis-like may be misleading.
iScience
June 19, 2026
Chuang Liang, Wenhao Jiang, Jiayu Chen et al.
A specific pattern of altered connectivity between the default mode network and the insula, detected via unsupervised fusion of functional and structural MRI, was found in 39 people with end-stage renal disease receiving hemodialysis over one year. This pattern was linked to cognitive performance, and its associated genes were enriched in DNA damage repair, energy metabolism, and cellular activation. The baseline pattern predicted future cognition in this group, and similar brain-cognition associations were validated in independent cohorts with major depressive disorder (n=60), mild cognitive impairment (n=291), and Alzheimer's disease (n=77).
Molecular Psychiatry
April 1, 2026
Qiang Li, Jingyu Liu, Godfrey D Pearlson et al.
Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder involve disruptions in the brain's information processing. Using resting-state fMRI and information-theoretic metrics, the authors show that the psychotic brain exhibits states of randomness across both spatial and temporal dimensions. They found a disruption in the balance between redundant and synergistic information, termed brainquake, indicating instability and disorganization in brain networks. Aberrant information interactions were observed in cortical and subcortical intrinsic connectivity networks, particularly in sensorimotor, visual, temporal, default mode, and fronto-parietal networks, as well as hippocampal and amygdalar regions. These findings suggest profound alterations in the brain's complexity and organizational states.