Journal of Psychopharmacology
November 26, 2022
Melissa Shukuroglou, Leor Roseman, David Nutt et al.
38 citations
Listening to music after psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression increases the pleasure people feel from music, and this increase correlates with a reduction in anhedonia (loss of pleasure). Nineteen patients received a low dose (10 mg) and then a high dose (25 mg) of psilocybin one week apart. Functional MRI scans before and after treatment showed that during music listening, functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (a brain reward region) and areas resembling the default mode network decreased after treatment. The findings suggest psilocybin therapy enhances music-evoked pleasure and point to a possible brain mechanism involving reduced connectivity in the default mode network.
JAMA Network Open
December 5, 2024
Anthony L Back, Timara K Freeman-Young, Ladybird Morgan et al.
37 citations
A double-blind randomized trial tested psilocybin therapy against niacin in 30 US clinicians (physicians, advanced practice practitioners, and nurses) who developed depression, burnout, or PTSD from frontline COVID-19 pandemic work. Participants had no prepandemic mental health diagnoses but had moderate or severe depression at enrollment. After one medication session, depression symptoms (measured by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale) improved significantly more with psilocybin (mean decrease of 21.33 points) than with niacin (mean decrease of 9.33 points), a difference of 12.00 points. Burnout and PTSD symptoms showed numerically larger improvements with psilocybin, but these differences were not statistically significant. The findings suggest psilocybin therapy can reduce depression in this postpandemic condition.
Psychopharmacology (Berl)
November 4, 2021
Joanna Kuć, Hannes Kettner, Fernando Rosas et al.
37 citations
People who use cannabis at the same time as a classic psychedelic report more intense subjective effects, with higher cannabis doses linked to stronger mystical, visual, and ego-dissolution experiences. The relationship between cannabis dose and challenging experiences followed a U-shaped pattern, while emotional breakthrough showed no connection to cannabis dose. The findings suggest an interaction between cannabis and psychedelics, but the study's design cannot establish cause or clinical implications.
Neuroimage
January 29, 2021
Beatrice M. Jobst, Selen Atasoy, Adrián Ponce-Alvarez et al.
37 citations
After taking LSD, the brain's dynamics become less stable and more diverse in response to perturbations. Using a whole-brain computational model fitted to fMRI data from individuals under LSD or placebo, researchers simulated external disruptions to different brain regions. They measured recovery time with the Perturbational Integration Latency Index (PILI). Globally, LSD caused consistently higher PILI values, indicating a shift further from stable equilibrium. Locally, the largest differences appeared in the limbic, visual, and default mode networks. LSD also increased variability of PILI across brain regions, suggesting greater response diversity. These findings reveal brain-wide dynamical changes underlying the psychedelic state and suggest potential clinical applications for psychiatric disorders.
Journal of affective disorders
July 15, 2023
Matthew B Wall, Cynthia Lam, Natalie Ertl et al.
36 citations
Psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression alters the brain's response to music, suggesting an elevated responsiveness to music after treatment that is related to subjective drug effects during dosing. Nineteen patients with treatment-resistant depression underwent two psilocybin dosing sessions. Brain scans before and after treatment showed increased activity in the superior temporal cortex when listening to music, and decreased activity in the medial frontal lobes during rest. These changes in music-related brain activity correlated with the intensity of subjective effects felt during the psilocybin sessions. The findings imply that psychedelic therapy may enhance emotional responsiveness to music, which could be relevant for treating depression.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 14, 2017
Selen Atasoy, Leor Roseman, Mendel Kaelen et al.
25 citations
preprint
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) alters the energy and power of individual harmonic brain states in a frequency-selective manner, expanding the repertoire of active brain states. This non-random increase in co-activation across frequencies suggests a general re-organization of brain dynamics. The frequency distribution of active brain states under LSD follows power-laws, indicating dynamics at the edge of criticality. These methods offer insights into complex brain dynamics in health and disease.
Journal of Medical Internet Research
May 4, 2021
Sebastian Hübner, Eline Haijen, Mendel Kaelen et al.
23 citations
In web-based studies that track people before and after they use psychedelics, many participants stop responding, which can bias the results. Analyzing data from 654 initial participants, younger age, lower education, higher extraversion, and lower conscientiousness predicted dropping out before the four-week endpoint. Neither positive attitudes toward psychedelics nor intense challenging experiences during the drug session predicted dropout. These attrition patterns match those seen in other long-term studies, suggesting they are not unique to psychedelic research. The absence of dropout linked to psychedelic advocacy or negative drug experiences reduces concerns about certain biases in this type of data.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 25, 2017
Mendel Kaelen, Romy Lorenz, Frederick S. Barrett et al.
20 citations
preprint
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) alters how the brain processes music, particularly by enhancing activity and connectivity in networks linked to music perception and emotion. Sixteen healthy volunteers listened to a 7-minute music piece during fMRI after taking either 75 mcg of LSD or a placebo. The acoustic feature of timbral complexity—the richness of the music's spectral distribution—drove the most pronounced changes in brain activity and connectivity under LSD. These changes correlated with increased feelings of wonder evoked by the music. The results suggest a neurobiological basis for why music is useful in psychedelic therapy.
Spiral (Imperial College London)
April 1, 2017
Mendel Kaelen
10 citations
Psychedelics intensify music-evoked emotions, including wonder and transcendence, and alter brain activity. Under LSD, increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and precuneus correlates with heightened wonder. LSD and music together enhance information flow from the parahippocampus to the visual cortex, linked to complex mental imagery and autobiographical memories. In patients with depression, music quality during psilocybin therapy predicts peak experiences, insight, and subsequent reductions in depression. These findings support the therapeutic significance of intensified music-experience under psychedelics, though further research is needed to understand underlying brain mechanisms and optimize music use in therapy.
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2018
Mendel Kaelen, Bruna Giribaldi, Jordan Raine et al.
9 citations
correction
Music plays a central role in psychedelic therapy by helping to guide and support the therapeutic process. The article synthesizes evidence that music can influence emotional states, facilitate psychological insights, and enhance the overall therapeutic outcome when combined with psychedelic substances. The authors argue that music acts as a "hidden therapist" by directing the trajectory of the psychedelic experience, promoting emotional release, and supporting the integration of the experience afterward. This suggests that careful selection and use of music is crucial for optimizing the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic therapy.
The British Journal of Psychiatry
June 18, 2025
Kyle T Greenway, Nicolas Garel, Lê-Anh L Dinh-Williams et al.
8 citations
In a clinical trial of ketamine combined with psychotherapy for severe treatment-resistant depression, 32 participants received six ketamine infusions with psychological support, either with or without music. Both groups showed large and sustained reductions in depression, anxiety, and suicidality at four weeks, fully maintained at eight-week follow-up. The ketamine experiences were highly emotional and mystical, comparable to those seen with psilocybin. Converging analyses suggested that mystical-like experiences contributed to the immediate and lasting antidepressant effects. Music did not enhance outcomes or psychedelic experiences.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 15, 2022
Matthew B. Wall, Cynthia Lam, Natalie Ertl et al.
8 citations
preprint
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with psilocybin, which often incorporates music, may enhance the brain's response to emotional stimuli. In nineteen patients with treatment-resistant depression, functional MRI scans taken before and after two psilocybin dosing sessions showed that music listening, compared to resting-state, triggered greater brain activity in the bilateral superior temporal cortex after treatment. The right ventral occipital lobe showed increased activity during the resting-state scan post-treatment. Activity in music-related brain regions correlated with the intensity of subjective effects experienced during dosing. These results suggest psilocybin therapy specifically elevates responsiveness to music, linked to the drug's subjective effects.
Human brain mapping
April 1, 2025
Clayton R Coleman, Kenneth Shinozuka, Robert Tromm et al.
4 citations
LSD alters consciousness by changing connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), thalamus, and visual areas. In healthy participants, stronger functional connectivity between the left and right DLPFC, thalamus, and fusiform face area correlated with greater ego dissolution. Emotional arousal was linked to increased connectivity between the right DLPFC, intraparietal sulcus, and salience network. A confirmatory reverse analysis supported these findings. Magnetoencephalography data showed that LSD increased theta-band information flow from the thalamus to the DLPFC, supporting the idea that disrupted thalamic gating underlies ego dissolution. The results clarify the DLPFC's role in LSD-induced altered states.
Journal of Vision
September 1, 2016
Leor Roseman, Martin I. Sereno, Robert Leech et al.
4 citations
Under LSD, the visual cortex's resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) becomes more dependent on its intrinsic retinotopic organization, as if the brain were processing actual visual input despite closed eyes. In 10 healthy subjects, RSFC between non-adjacent patches of V1 and V3 that represent congruent parts of the visual field (both horizontal or both vertical meridians) was significantly stronger than connectivity between incongruent patches (horizontal-vertical), compared to placebo. The difference between congruent and incongruent connectivity was greater under LSD (Cohen's d=1.6), suggesting that psychedelic imagery involves transient local retinotopic activation similar to that from visual stimulation.
bioRxiv
March 24, 2025
Kenneth Shinozuka, Mattia Rosso, Clayton R. Coleman et al.
3 citations
preprint
LSD profoundly alters consciousness by reorganizing brain networks in specific frequency bands. Analyzing MEG data from 14 healthy participants, the substance enhances high alpha (12.1, 13.3 Hz) activity across all conditions and high beta (25.3 Hz) in three conditions, while suppressing low beta (18.1, 19.3 Hz) and low alpha (8.5 Hz). LSD also shifts network spatial distributions: low alpha moves anteriorly toward the motor cortex, high alpha becomes more localized to the visual cortex, and low beta expands over temporal and occipital cortices. These frequency- and region-specific changes add nuance to theories of network disintegration under psychedelics.
Sebastian Hübner, Eline Haijen, Mendel Kaelen et al.
2 citations
Younger age, lower educational levels, lower conscientiousness, and higher extraversion predict dropout in web-based prospective studies of psychedelic use. Baseline attitudes toward psychedelics and the intensity of acute challenging experiences do not predict attrition. These demographic and personality predictors align with those found in longitudinal research in other fields, suggesting that concerns about bias from psychedelic advocacy or negative drug experiences may be less problematic than previously thought.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
December 9, 2024
Clayton R. Coleman, Kenneth Shinozuka, Robert Tromm et al.
1 citation
preprint
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) alters consciousness by affecting brain connectivity, particularly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Using fMRI and MEG data from healthy participants, the study found that ego dissolution—a hallmark of the psychedelic experience—was positively correlated with increased functional connectivity between the left and right DLPFC, thalamus, and fusiform face area. Emotional arousal was linked to stronger connectivity between the right DLPFC, intraparietal sulcus, and salience network. A confirmatory analysis supported these findings. MEG data showed that LSD increased directed information flow from the thalamus to the DLPFC in the theta band, suggesting disrupted thalamic gating contributes to ego dissolution. These results indicate a key role for the DLPFC in LSD-induced states of consciousness.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
January 5, 2021
Beatrice M. Jobst, Selen Atasoy, Adrián Ponce-Alvarez et al.
1 citation
preprint
LSD alters brain dynamics by shifting the brain's global working point further from a stable equilibrium, as shown by consistently higher Perturbational Integration Latency Index (PILI) values after intake. Using a whole-brain computational model perturbed in silico, the largest differences were found in the limbic, visual, and default mode networks. Greater variability of PILI values across brain regions under LSD indicates higher response diversity to external perturbations. These findings provide insights into the brain-wide dynamical changes underlying the psychedelic state and suggest possible clinical applications for psychiatric disorders.
UNC Libraries
April 22, 2020
Peter J. Hellyer, Luke T. Williams, Ben Sessa et al.
1 citation
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in microgram doses produces profound, sometimes life-changing experiences and is a uniquely powerful psychoactive substance. In the first modern neuroimaging study of LSD, marked changes in brain blood flow, electrical activity, and network communication patterns were observed. These changes correlated strongly with the drug's hallucinatory and consciousness-altering properties. The findings have implications for understanding the neurobiology of consciousness and for potential applications of LSD in psychological research.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
May 1, 2026
Otto Simonsson, Taylor Lyons, Joseph Marks et al.
Across three studies—a naturalistic observation, a single-arm psilocybin trial with healthy volunteers, and a randomized controlled trial comparing psilocybin to escitalopram in depressed patients—psychedelic use did not produce significant changes in authoritarian attitudes. Contrary to earlier suggestions, the evidence does not reliably show that psychedelics decrease authoritarian attitudes. Future work should use larger, more diverse samples and examine other political outcomes.