Skip to content

Psychedelic resting-state neuroimaging: A review and perspective on balancing replication and novel analyses.

Drummond E-Wen Mcculloch, Gitte Moos Knudsen, Frederick Streeter Barrett, Manoj K. Doss, Robin Lester Carhart-Harris, Fernando E. Rosas, Gustavo Deco, Morten L. Kringelbach, Katrin H. Preller, Johannes G. Ramaekers, Natasha L. Mason, Felix Müller, Patrick MacDonald Fisher

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews July 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104689 (opens in new tab)

Read Full Text
Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Review Peer reviewed
Topics DMT LSD Psilocybin Serotonin
Keywords Ayahausca Entheogen FMRI Hallucinogen Human Neuroimaging Psychedelic Replication Resting-state
Citations 14
Key findings Nearly all studies varied in data processing and analysis methodology, two datasets are the foundation of over half of the published literature, and there is lexical ambiguity in common outcome metric terminology.

Abstract

Clinical research into serotonergic psychedelics is expanding rapidly, showing promising efficacy across myriad disorders. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is a commonly used strategy to identify psychedelic-induced changes in neural pathways in clinical and healthy populations. Here we, a large group of psychedelic imaging researchers, review the 42 research articles published to date, based on the 17 unique studies evaluating psychedelic effects on rs-fMRI, focusing on methodological variation. Prominently, we observe that nearly all studies vary in data processing and analysis methodology, two datasets are the foundation of over half of the published literature, and there is lexical ambiguity in common outcome metric terminology. We offer guidelines for future studies that encourage coherence in the field. Psychedelic rs-fMRI will benefit from the development of novel methods that expand our understanding of the brain mechanisms mediating its intriguing effects; yet, this field is at a crossroads where we must also consider the critical importance of consistency and replicability to effectively converge on stable representations of the neural effects of psychedelics.

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on DMT, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Neuropharmacology of N,N-dimethyltryptamine 2016 Review
N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an Endogenous Hallucinogen: Past, Present, and Future Research to Determine Its Role and Function Humans and animals (general) 2018 Review
Psychedelic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: metabolism, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and pharmacological actions. Humans (pharmacokinetics) 2010 Review
Pharmahuasca: Human Pharmacology of Oral DMT Plus Harmine Human self-experimenters 1999 Review n = 8
The psychedelic model of schizophrenia: the case of N,N- dimethyltryptamine 1976 Review

Citations in the library

Cited by 97

and 92 more in the library

Cites 101

and 96 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

DMT LSD Psilocybin Serotonin