The effects of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers
Leor Roseman, Robert Leech, Amanda Feilding, David Nutt, Robin Carhart-Harris
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience May 27, 2014 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00204 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Placebo-controlled study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Psilocybin MDMA |
| Topics | Default mode network MDMA Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Consciousness Resting State FMRI Altered state Functional connectivity Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 293 |
| Key points | Psilocybin increased between-network resting-state functional connectivity, making brain networks less differentiated, while MDMA had less marked effects. |
Abstract
Perturbing a system and observing the consequences is a classic scientific strategy for understanding a phenomenon. Psychedelic drugs perturb consciousness in a marked and novel way and thus are powerful tools for studying its mechanisms. In the present analysis, we measured changes in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between a standard template of different independent components analysis (ICA)-derived resting state networks (RSNs) under the influence of two different psychoactive drugs, the stimulant/psychedelic hybrid, MDMA, and the classic psychedelic, psilocybin. Both were given in placebo-controlled designs and produced marked subjective effects, although reports of more profound changes in consciousness were given after psilocybin. Between-network RSFC was generally increased under psilocybin, implying that networks become less differentiated from each other in the psychedelic state. Decreased RSFC between visual and sensorimotor RSNs was also observed. MDMA had a notably less marked effect on between-network RSFC, implying that the extensive changes observed under psilocybin may be exclusive to classic psychedelic drugs and related to their especially profound effects on consciousness. The novel analytical approach applied here may be applied to other altered states of consciousness to improve our characterization of different conscious states and ultimately advance our understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying them.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 190
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Scientific Reports October 13, 2017
- Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Current Biology April 13, 2016
- Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 14, 2016
and 185 more in the library
Cites 20
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- An information integration theory of consciousness BMC Neuroscience November 2, 2004
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Journal of Neuroscience September 18, 2013
and 15 more in the library