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Felix Scholkmann

Scholkmann Data Analysis Services, Scientific Consulting and Physical Engineering, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.

5 papers in the library · 39 citations · publishing 2019-2024

Papers

Measuring acute effects of subanesthetic ketamine on cerebrovascular hemodynamics in humans using TD-fNIRS.

Scientific reports July 19, 2023 Adelaida Castillo, Julien Dubois, Ryan M Field et al. 19 citations

Ketamine administration in healthy participants caused an altered state of consciousness and changes in systemic physiology, including increased pulse rate and electrodermal activity. The drug led to a brain-wide reduction in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and decreased global brain connectivity in the prefrontal region. Preliminary evidence suggests that a combination of neural and physiological metrics may predict subjective mystical experiences and reductions in depressive symptoms. The study demonstrates the successful use of fNIRS neuroimaging to measure physiological effects of ketamine in a clinical setting, representing a step toward larger clinical fNIRS studies of psychedelics.

Psychedelics and fNIRS neuroimaging: exploring new opportunities

Neurophotonics December 2, 2022 Felix Scholkmann, Franz X. Vollenweider 10 citations

Optical neuroimaging with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) holds great potential for studying brain activity changes induced by psychedelics. The current resurgence in psychedelic research and the growing popularity and progress of fNIRS make this an opportune time to establish fNIRS as a tool in this field. The authors aim to encourage both the optical neuroimaging and psychedelic research communities to exploit this momentum and contribute to further development.

Effects of psilocybin on functional connectivity measured with fNIRS: Insights from a single-subject pilot study

Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) January 1, 2019 Felix Scholkmann, Lisa Holper, Katrin H. Preller et al. 6 citations

Psilocybin (17 mg) was given orally to a 31-year-old man, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured brain hemodynamics and oxygenation over the frontal and occipital cortex before and 30 and 60 minutes after intake. Psilocybin altered functional connectivity in bilateral frontal, bilateral occipital, and right and left fronto-occipital regions. The subject's pulse rate also showed non-random variations possibly related to the substance. This first fNIRS pilot study demonstrates the technique can detect psilocybin-induced resting-state connectivity changes, though results are from a single participant and require replication with larger samples and improved setups.

Acute effects of subanesthetic ketamine on cerebrovascular hemodynamics in humans: A TD-fNIRS neuroimaging study

bioRxiv Preprint Server January 6, 2023 Adelaida Castillo, Julien Dubois, Ryan M. Field et al. 3 citations preprint

Ketamine reduced brain-wide low-frequency fluctuations and decreased prefrontal global brain connectivity in healthy adults, while also increasing pulse rate and electrodermal activity. A combination of neural and physiological metrics may predict subjective mystical experiences and reductions in depressive symptoms. The study used time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure acute brain dynamics after intramuscular ketamine (0.75 mg/kg) or placebo in 15 participants within a clinical setting, demonstrating the feasibility of this neuroimaging method for larger clinical studies on psychedelics.

Psychosomadelics: The case for renaming psychedelics

December 16, 2024 Felix Scholkmann, Peter Sjöstedt-hughes 1 citation preprint

A new term, 'psychosomadelics', is proposed to replace 'psychedelics' for a certain class of psychoactive substances. The authors argue that 'psychedelics' is psychocentric, focusing primarily on mental effects and neglecting the somatic (bodily) effects, which are increasingly documented. The new term aims to balance and enrich discourse by denoting both mind and body concepts and indirectly relating to philosophical mind-body ontologies and phenomenologies. The authors suggest adopting this term to evolve and expand the connotations of such substances and their effects.