Transient destabilization of whole brain dynamics induced by DMT
Juan Ignacio Piccinini, Yonatan Sanz Perl, Carla Pallavicini, Gustavo Deco, Morten L. Kringelbach, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris, Christopher Timmermann, Enzo Tagliazucchi
bioRxiv January 29, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.26.577435 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort with computational modeling |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Human volunteers |
| Interventions | N N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) |
| Dose | 20 mg intravenous |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness DMT |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Hallucinogens Entheogens Brain dynamics Neural activity Brain states Brain function Brain patterns Brain flexibility Consciousness States of mind Perception Reality Brain research Neuroimaging Cognitive science |
| Key findings | The brain under DMT enters a transient state of heightened reactivity near a critical point, concentrated in fronto-parietal regions and visual cortices, which correlates with serotonin 5HT2a receptor density. |
Abstract
Abstract The transition towards the brain state induced by psychedelic drugs is frequently neglected in favor of a static description of their acute effects. We used a time-dependent whole-brain model to reproduce large-scale brain dynamics measured with fMRI from 15 volunteers under 20 mg intravenous N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a short-acting psychedelic. To capture its transient effects, we parametrized the proximity to a global bifurcation using a pharmacokinetic equation. Simulated perturbations revealed a transient of heightened reactivity concentrated in fronto-parietal regions and visual cortices, correlated with serotonin 5HT2a receptor density, the primary target of psychedelics. These advances suggest a mechanism to explain key features of the psychedelic state and also predicts that the temporal evolution of these features aligns with pharmacokinetics. Our results contribute to understanding how psychedelics introduce a transient where minimal perturbations can achieve a maximal effect, shedding light on how short psychedelic episodes may extend an overarching influence over time.