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Psychedelic synaesthesia: Evidence for a serotonergic role in synaesthesia

David Luke, Devin B. Terhune, Ross Friday

Seeing and Perceiving 2012 DOI: 10.1163/187847612x646956 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Survey Peer reviewed
Population Recreational drug users
Interventions LSD psilocybin
Topics LSD Psilocybin Serotonin
Keywords Neurocognitive Neurochemical Hallucinogen
Citations 11
Key findings Serotonergic agonists like LSD and psilocybin frequently induce synaesthesia and augment it in congenital synaesthetes, implicating the serotonergic system in the experience of synaesthesia.

Abstract

The neurobiology of synaesthesia is receiving growing attention in the search for insights into consciousness, such as the binding problem. One way of decoding the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this phenomenon is to investigate the induction of synaesthesia via neurochemical agents, as commonly occurs with psychedelic substances. How synaesthesia is affected by drugs can also help inform us of the neural mechanisms underlying this condition. To address these questions we surveyed a sample of recreational drug users regarding the prevalence, type and frequency of synaesthesia under the influence of psychedelics and other psychoactive substances. The results indicate that synaesthesia is frequently experienced following the consumption of serotonergic agonists such as LSD and psilocybin and that these same drugs appear to augment synaesthesia in congenital synaesthetes. These results implicate the serotonergic system in the experience of synaesthesia.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on serotonin, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls 1999 Cross-sectional association study n = 20
Cerebral1H MRS alterations in recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ?ecstasy?) users Recreational MDMA users and normal subjects 1999 Cross-sectional study n = 59
Evidence for a common biological basis of the absorption trait, hallucinogen effects, and positive symptoms: Epistasis between 5-HT2a and COMT polymorphisms 95 male and 241 female subjects 2005 Cross-sectional genetic association study n = 336
Recreational use of psychedelics is associated with elevated personality trait openness: Exploration of associations with brain serotonin markers. 10 psychedelic-preferring recreational users, 14 MDMA-preferring users, and 21... 2019 Cross-sectional observational study n = 45
In Vivo Imaging of Cerebral Serotonin Transporter and Serotonin2A Receptor Binding in 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) and Hallucinogen Users 2011 Cross-sectional study

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LSD Psilocybin Serotonin