Hedonic experiences emerge from an orchestrated balance of synergistic and redundant information processing

Abstract

Ketamine exerts rapid-acting, pro-hedonic effects, yet its precise mechanism remains elusive. Here, we present behavioral and fMRI data from a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study in 38 healthy participants investigating ketamine’s sub-acute effects on multivariate information-processing during music-evoked peak hedonic experiences. Leveraging information-theoretical measures, our findings indicate that hedonic experiences depend on a distinct global (as measured by O-Information) and local (as measured by integrated information) balance between redundant – information shared across nodes – and synergistic – information emerging from joint interactions – processes. As hedonic intensity rises, neural dynamics shift toward greater synergy; with the one exception of a deliberate increase in redundancy particularly for key sensory information to ensure reliable transmission of and access to critical external information for subsequent hedonic processing. In contrast, ketamine’s sub-acute pro-hedonic effects arise potentially from enhancing redundant dynamics at rest, boosting the brain’s capability to robustly represent and access critical internal information, and thus, fostering an environment optimized to amplify the phenomenological hedonic experience, while simultaneously allowing for more efficient information integration.