Effects of psilocybin on functional connectivity measured with fNIRS: Insights from a single-subject pilot study
Felix Scholkmann, Lisa Holper, Katrin H. Preller, Franz X. Vollenweider
Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) 2019 DOI: 10.5167/uzh-181782 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-subject pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A 31-year-old man |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | 17 mg |
| Duration | Measurements before intake and 30 and 60 minutes after intake |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Subject documents Functional connectivity Functional near-infrared spectroscopy Cognitive psychology Artificial intelligence |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key points | fNIRS detected psilocybin-induced changes in resting-state functional connectivity in bilateral frontal, bilateral occipital, and fronto-occipital regions. |
Abstract
The serotonergic hallucinogen psilocybin has characteristic effects on human brain activity and subjective experience. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed alternations of functional connectivity (FC) under the influence of psilocybin in humans. No study, as yet, investigated psilocybin-induced changes in brain hemodynamics and oxygenation with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) optical neuroimaging. Our aim was to perform the first fNIRS single-subject pilot study in order to investigate the ability of fNIRS to detect changes induced by psychedelic substances. To this end, psilocybin (17 mg) was administered orally to a 31-year old man while resting-state changes in cerebral tissue hemodynamic and oxygenation were measured with fNIRS bilaterally over the frontal and occipital cortex. Measurements were performed before the intake of the substance as well as during its effective period (30 min and 60 min after intake). We observed psilocybin-induced changes in the bilateral frontal FC, bilateral occipital FC as well as right and left frontooccipital FC. In addition, the pulse rate of the subject showed non-random variations during the experiment, possibly related to psilocybin administration. This study demonstrates that fNIRS is able to detect psilocybin-induced changes in resting-state FC. The results of this initial single-subject pilot study are promising and warrants repetition with a larger number of subjects and an improved/extended fNIRS setup. We anticipate that fNIRS neuroimaging will play an important role in future studies investigating the neuronal/physiological effects of psychedelic substances in humans.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. Patients with moderate-to-severe, unipolar, treatment-resistant major depression | 2016 | Open-label feasibility trial | n = 12 |
| Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up. Patients with severe, unipolar, treatment-resistant major depression | 2017 | Open-label trial | n = 20 |
| Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction Psychiatrically healthy nicotine-dependent smokers | 2014 | Open-label pilot study | n = 15 |
| Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2018 | Clinical trial | n = 20 |
| Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) | 2006 | Controlled clinical trial |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Psychedelics and fNIRS neuroimaging: exploring new opportunities Neurophotonics December 2, 2022
- A Review on Research and Evaluation Methods for Investigating Self-Transcendence. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Short-Term Effects of Meditation on Sustained Attention as Measured by fNIRS Brain Science September 1, 2020