LSD alters eyes-closed functional connectivity within the early visual cortex in a retinotopic fashion.
Leor Roseman, Martin I. Sereno, Robert Leech, Mendel Kaelen, Csaba Orbán, John Mcgonigle, Amanda Feilding, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris
Human Brain Mapping April 29, 2016 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23224 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Healthy subjects |
| Intervention | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Hallucinogens Psychoactive drugs Visual processing Vision Visual perception Early visual areas Visual cortex Visual field Brain connectivity Neural connectivity Functional connectivity Brain communication Neural networks Neuroimaging FMRI Advanced brain imaging |
| Citations | 63 |
| Key findings | Under LSD, the difference in resting-state functional connectivity between retinotopically congruent and incongruent patches of V1 and V3 increased significantly relative to placebo, indicating that visual cortex activity becomes more dependent on intrinsic retinotopic organization. |
Abstract
The question of how spatially organized activity in the visual cortex behaves during eyes-closed, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)-induced "psychedelic imagery" (e.g., visions of geometric patterns and more complex phenomena) has never been empirically addressed, although it has been proposed that under psychedelics, with eyes-closed, the brain may function "as if" there is visual input when there is none. In this work, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) data was analyzed from 10 healthy subjects under the influence of LSD and, separately, placebo. It was suspected that eyes-closed psychedelic imagery might involve transient local retinotopic activation, of the sort typically associated with visual stimulation. To test this, it was hypothesized that, under LSD, patches of the visual cortex with congruent retinotopic representations would show greater RSFC than incongruent patches. Using a retinotopic localizer performed during a nondrug baseline condition, nonadjacent patches of V1 and V3 that represent the vertical or the horizontal meridians of the visual field were identified. Subsequently, RSFC between V1 and V3 was measured with respect to these a priori identified patches. Consistent with our prior hypothesis, the difference between RSFC of patches with congruent retinotopic specificity (horizontal-horizontal and vertical-vertical) and those with incongruent specificity (horizontal-vertical and vertical-horizontal) increased significantly under LSD relative to placebo, suggesting that activity within the visual cortex becomes more dependent on its intrinsic retinotopic organization in the drug condition. This result may indicate that under LSD, with eyes-closed, the early visual system behaves as if it were seeing spatially localized visual inputs. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3031-3040, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Human participants | 2016 | Observational cohort | |
| Increased spontaneous MEG signal diversity for psychoactive doses of ketamine, LSD and psilocybin Humans | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. USA adult respondents from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2012) | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 190,000 |
| Psychedelics not linked to mental health problems or suicidal behavior: A population study Randomly selected United States adults | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 135,095 |
| Whole-Brain Multimodal Neuroimaging Model Using Serotonin Receptor Maps Explains Non-linear Functional Effects of LSD. Healthy human participants | 2018 | Observational study with computational modeling |
Citations in the library
Cited by 46
- The neural basis of psychedelic action. Nature Neuroscience October 24, 2022
- Modern Clinical Research on LSD Neuropsychopharmacology April 27, 2017
- Alterations of consciousness and mystical-type experiences after acute LSD in humans Psychopharmacology October 7, 2016
- Psilocybin acutely alters the functional connectivity of the claustrum with brain networks that support perception, memory, and attention. Neuroimage September 1, 2020
- Unifying Theories of Psychedelic Drug Effects Frontiers in Pharmacology March 2, 2018
and 41 more in the library
Cites 15
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV) PLoS One August 31, 2010
- Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Journal of Neuroscience September 18, 2013
- Activation of Serotonin 2A Receptors Underlies the Psilocybin-Induced Effects on Oscillations, N170 Visual-Evoked Potentials, and Visual Hallucinations Journal of Neuroscience June 19, 2013
- The effects of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers Frontiers in Human Neuroscience May 27, 2014
and 10 more in the library