J Psychopharmacol
February 10, 2021
Carla Pallavicini, Federico Cavanna, Federico Zamberlán et al.
73 citations
Inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in natural settings reduces alpha brainwave power (8-12 Hz) across the scalp while increasing delta (1-4 Hz) and gamma (30-40 Hz) power. Gamma power increases correlate with reports of mystical-type experiences. DMT also raises global synchrony and metastability in the gamma band and lowers them in the alpha band. These findings align with prior lab-based psychedelic research and suggest EEG markers for mystical experiences in real-world contexts, underscoring the value of studying psychedelics in natural settings.
Network Neuroscience
December 23, 2022
Gustavo Deco, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Laura De la Fuente et al.
43 citations
The default mode network (DMN) may coordinate the recruitment and scheduling of brain networks for solving cognitive tasks, supported by evidence that DMN regions are physically and functionally distant from sensorimotor areas. Using a thermodynamics-inspired, deep learning-based Temporal Evolution NETwork (TENET) framework to measure the 'arrow of time'—a marker of nonreversibility and hierarchy in brain signals—analysis of Human Connectome Project data from nearly a thousand participants suggests the DMN orchestrates hierarchy levels that shift between rest and seven cognitive tasks. This hierarchy differs significantly in health versus neuropsychiatric disorders, offering insights into brain dynamics for cognition.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
November 5, 2021
Enzo Tagliazucchi, Federico Zamberlán, Federico Cavanna et al.
23 citations
Inhaled DMT, a classic psychedelic, produces short but profound shifts in consciousness. In 35 healthy volunteers, electroencephalography recorded before and during the drug's acute effects in a natural setting showed marked reductions in alpha and beta brain oscillations and increases in delta, theta, and gamma power, particularly in posterior regions. The power of fronto-temporal theta oscillations inversely correlated with feelings of unity and transcendence—core features of mystical-type experiences. These findings suggest that baseline brain activity prior to psychedelic use may help predict the likelihood of such experiences, which are linked to lasting well-being and improved therapeutic outcomes.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
March 11, 2021
Enzo Tagliazucchi, Federico Zamberlán, Federico Cavanna et al.
3 citations
preprint
Inhaled DMT, a classic psychedelic, produces brief but profound changes in consciousness that vary with context. Using wireless EEG and source imaging, researchers mapped changes in neural oscillations. Frontal and temporal theta power inversely correlated with feelings of unity and transcendence—hallmarks of mystical-type experiences. A machine learning model confirmed the robustness of these results. The findings align with the idea that pre-drug mindset influences subjective experience. Priming individuals to lower theta power before taking a serotonergic psychedelic might increase the likelihood of mystical-type experiences, potentially enhancing well-being and therapeutic outcomes.
Sci Rep
July 9, 2025
Stephanie Müller, Federico Cavanna, Laura De la Fuente et al.
2 citations
High doses of psilocybin mushrooms caused people to look more locally at paintings, with less spread in where their eyes fixated, compared with low doses. Psilocybin increased subjective emotional intensity and feelings of flow but did not change how people rated the paintings aesthetically, indicating a separation between perceptual and evaluative parts of aesthetic experience. The gaze changes may stem from altered perception of low-level visual features such as textures, shapes, and colors. The work demonstrates that eye tracking can objectively measure psychedelic effects on behavior in naturalistic settings.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 22, 2022
Camila Sanz, Federico Cavanna, Stephanie Müller et al.
1 citation
preprint
Low doses of psilocybin (microdoses) can be detected in natural speech. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, participants given 0.5 g of psilocybin mushrooms showed significant differences in verbosity and sentiment scores compared to placebo, though semantic variability did not differ. Machine learning classifiers using these speech metrics distinguished between the psilocybin and placebo conditions with high accuracy (AUC≈0.8). These findings suggest that unconstrained natural language may serve as a practical, low-cost tool for monitoring microdosing effects, addressing limitations of existing questionnaires designed for larger psychedelic doses.
Psychopharmacology
September 1, 2022
Camila Sanz, Federico Cavanna, Stephanie Müller et al.
Natural speech can reveal whether someone has taken a microdose of psilocybin. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, 34 healthy adults provided speech samples after consuming either 0.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms or a placebo. Machine learning classifiers distinguished between the two conditions with high accuracy (AUC ~0.8), based on features such as verbosity and sentiment scores, though semantic variability did not differ significantly. This suggests that low doses of serotonergic psychedelics leave detectable signatures in unconstrained speech, offering a potential low-cost, non-invasive method for monitoring microdosing regimens.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
September 2, 2021
Laura De la Fuente, Federico Zamberlán, Hernan Bocaccio et al.
preprint
The laws of physics are time-symmetric, but dissipative systems like the brain show a preferred temporal direction. Using a deep learning framework inspired by stochastic thermodynamics, researchers analyzed electrocorticography signals from non-human primates. Brain activity during conscious wakefulness could be distinguished from its time-reversed version with high accuracy, using both frequency and phase information. This ability was reduced during deep sleep and ketamine-induced anesthesia. Transitions between slow (≈20 Hz) and fast frequencies (> 40 Hz) mainly contributed to the temporal asymmetry seen during wakefulness. The findings suggest that a preferred temporal direction in neural activity correlates with conscious awareness, linking brain processes to the subjective experience of time's passage.