Effect of LSD and music on the time-varying brain dynamics
preprint DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.04.486673
Summary
The interaction of music and psychedelics, specifically LSD, alters brain activity dynamics in participants. In a study with 15 individuals undergoing fMRI scans, it was found that LSD impacted the combined activity of specific brain networks, and music may have a lasting effect on resting-state brain activity involving task-positive networks. These findings suggest that music is an important factor in psychedelic therapy settings.
Study at a glance
| Design | observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | participants undergoing fMRI scans under LSD and placebo influence |
| Key finding | The interaction effect of music and psychedelics led to changes in time-varying brain activity, indicating that music can influence resting-state during psychedelic experiences. |
Abstract
Abstract Rationale 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. Objectives The main goal of our research is to investigate the effect of music, as a part of “setting”, on the brain states dynamics after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) intake. Methods 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. Results 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. Conclusions 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.