Differences in personality, cognitive abilities, illicit drug use, and white matter structural integrity between hallucinogen users and matched controls
Research Square April 20, 2022 Aviv Aharon-Almagor, Frederick S. Barrett
People who have used hallucinogens show greater openness to new experiences and higher cognitive ability scores compared to non-users, along with denser structural connectivity in white matter tracts linked to cognition, emotion, and creativity. The study compared 53 hallucinogen users with 53 matched non-users from a public database, using diffusion tensor imaging and psychological assessments. Hallucinogen users also reported more lifetime use of other illicit drugs. These findings suggest hallucinogen use may be associated with lasting changes in brain structure and personality, offering clues to possible neural mechanisms behind therapeutic effects.