Science Advances
May 8, 2026
Max Levinson, Alice Waitt, Katharina Duecker et al.
A longstanding debate in consciousness research concerns whether subjective perceptual experiences arise primarily from activity in sensory cortices or rely critically on inferences made in higher-order brain regions. We address this question using a compelling visual illusion (perceptual filling-in) that isolates neural processes underlying transitions from veridical to illusory conscious...
Science Advances
May 1, 2026
Anisul Arefin, Jihye Kim, Manas Pratim Chakraborty et al.
1 citation
A complex ensemble of neuromodulatory receptors orchestrates the many forms of synaptic plasticity that drive behavioral state changes, but an understanding of how such receptors functionally interact is limited. Here, we find that the antidepressant action of ketamine is dependent on both the receptor tyrosine kinase, tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), and the G protein-coupled receptor,...
Science Advances
April 1, 2026
Paula Berman, Janka Höfer, Herschel Mehlman et al.
1 citation
-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) biosynthetic pathway in hallucinogenic plant species traditionally used in shamanic rituals for spiritual healing. Leveraging the similarities in their chemical structures, we reconstructed in one plant assay the full biosynthetic pathways of five renowned natural psychedelics; psilocin and psilocybin found in mushrooms, DMT from plants, and bufotenin and 5-methoxy-DMT...
Science Advances
August 15, 2025
Marcell J László, Judit P Vigh, Anna E Kocsis et al.
9 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychoactive molecule present in the human brain. DMT is under clinical evaluation as a neuroprotective agent in poststroke recovery. Yet, its mechanism of action remains poorly understood. In a rat transient middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model, we previously showed that DMT reduces infarct volume. Here, we demonstrate that this effect is accompanied...
Science Advances
July 11, 2025
Lujuan He, Xuenan Wang, Shilin Luo et al.
8 citations
Arketamine, the (R)-enantiomer of (R,S)-ketamine, shows even greater rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects in rodent models compared to esketamine, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we used the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) model to investigate how arketamine exerts its antidepressant-like effects. We found that activating cAMP response element-binding...
Science Advances
April 26, 2024
Ben Rein, Kendall Raymond, Cali Boustani et al.
37 citations
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a psychoactive drug with powerful prosocial effects. While MDMA is sometimes termed an "empathogen," empirical studies have struggled to clearly demonstrate these effects or pinpoint underlying mechanisms. Here, we paired the social transfer of pain and analgesia-behavioral tests modeling empathy in mice-with region-specific neuropharmacology,...
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...
Science Advances
October 14, 2022
Eric L Garland, Adam W. Hanley, Justin Hudak et al.
39 citations
Self-regulation is instantiated by theta oscillations (4 to 8 Hz) in neurons of frontal midline brain regions. Frontal midline theta (FMΘ) is inversely associated with default mode network (DMN) activation, which subserves self-referential processing. Addiction involves impaired self-regulation and DMN dysfunction. Mindfulness is an efficacious self-regulatory practice for treating addiction,...
Science Advances
May 20, 2022
Tammi R. A. Kral, Kaley Davis, Cole Korponay et al.
67 citations
Studies purporting to show changes in brain structure following the popular, 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course are widely referenced despite major methodological limitations. Here, we present findings from a large, combined dataset of two, three-arm randomized controlled trials with active and waitlist (WL) control groups. Meditation-naïve participants ( n = 218) completed...
Science Advances
April 1, 2022
E. Oyarzabal, Li-Ming Hsu, Manasmita Das et al.
The default mode network (DMN) of the brain is functionally associated with a wide range of behaviors. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and spectral fiber photometry to investigate the selective neuromodulatory effect of norepinephrine (NE)–releasing noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) on the mouse DMN....
Science Advances
November 17, 2021
Marcus W. Meinhardt, Simone Pfarr, Grégory Fouquet et al.
92 citations
Alcohol-induced mGluR2 deficits are restored by psilocybin, resulting in a rescue of pathological behaviors in alcoholism.
Science Advances
March 1, 2020
Zirui Huang, Jun Zhang, Jinsong Wu et al.
Neuroimaging suggests that human consciousness relies on frequent access to default mode and dorsal attention brain networks. The ongoing stream of human consciousness relies on two distinct cortical systems, the default mode network and the dorsal attention network, which alternate their activity in an anticorrelated manner. We examined how the two systems are regulated in the conscious brain...
Science Advances
February 1, 2019
Athena Demertzi, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Stanislas Dehaene et al.
545 citations
Adopting the framework of brain dynamics as a cornerstone of human consciousness, we determined whether dynamic signal coordination provides specific and generalizable patterns pertaining to conscious and unconscious states after brain damage. A dynamic pattern of coordinated and anticoordinated functional magnetic resonance imaging signals characterized healthy individuals and minimally...