Effect of LSD and music on the time-varying brain dynamics.
Iga Adamska, Karolina Finc
Psychopharmacology July 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06394-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Healthy participants |
| Interventions | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) Music listening |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Brain states Clustering Psychedelics Resting state Psychedelic-research Brain-connectivity Music-cognition Altered-states |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | The interaction of music and LSD altered the dynamics of the task-positive brain state, and music alone may have a long-term influence on resting-state activity involving task-positive networks. |
Abstract
Psychedelics are getting closer to being widely used in clinical treatment. Music is known as a key element of psychedelic-assisted therapy due to its psychological effects, specifically on the emotion, meaning-making, and sensory processing. However, there is still a lack of understanding in how psychedelics influence brain activity in experimental settings involving music listening. The main goal of our research was to investigate the effect of music, as a part of "setting," on the brain states dynamics after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) intake. We used an open dataset, where a group of 15 participants underwent two functional MRI scanning sessions under LSD and placebo influence. Every scanning session contained three runs: two resting-state runs separated by one run with music listening. We applied K-Means clustering to identify the repetitive patterns of brain activity, so-called brain states. For further analysis, we calculated states' dwell time, fractional occupancy and transition probability. The interaction effect of music and psychedelics led to change in the time-varying brain activity of the task-positive state. LSD, regardless of the music, affected the dynamics of the state of combined activity of DMN, SOM, and VIS networks. Crucially, we observed that the music itself could potentially have a long-term influence on the resting-state, in particular on states involving task-positive networks. This study indicates that music, as a crucial element of "setting," can potentially have an influence on the subject's resting-state during psychedelic experience. Further studies should replicate these results on a larger sample size.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Human participants | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Crystal structure of an LSD-bound human serotonin receptor | 2017 | Experimental study with structural biology and molecular dynamics simulations | |
| Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: Sensitive Neuronal Units in the Midbrain Raphe Midbrain neurons containing serotonin | 1968 | Experimental study | |
| Connectome-harmonic decomposition of human brain activity reveals dynamical repertoire re-organization under LSD. Human brain | 2017 | Experimental study | |
| LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer Cancer patients | 1973 | Experimental study | n = 60 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Psilocybin for disorders of consciousness: A case-report study. Clinical Neurophysiology May 1, 2025
- Clinical Research on Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Pharmaceuticals March 29, 2025
- Psychedelic experiences elicited by serotonergic psychedelics: Molecular mechanisms and functional connectivity changes in the brain Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 16, 2025
- Motivation and retrospective appraisal of psychedelic study participation: a qualitative study in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology March 26, 2025
- Music mindfulness acutely modulates autonomic activity and improves psychological state in anxiety and depression. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2025
and 1 more in the library
Cites 61
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- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry May 17, 2016
- Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder JAMA Psychiatry November 4, 2020
and 56 more in the library