Acute Effects of Hallucinogens on Functional Connectivity: Psilocybin and Salvinorin-A
ACS Chemical Neuroscience June 25, 2024 Jingyuan Chen, Frederick A. Bagdasarian, Hanne D. Hansen et al. 11 citations
Using fMRI in nonhuman primates, this work compared how two different hallucinogens—psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, and salvinorin-A, a kappa-opioid receptor agonist—alter resting-state functional connectivity. Both drugs acutely desynchronized the default mode network and affected a network involving the claustrum, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortices, and angular gyrus, supporting a cortico-claustro-cortical model for probing hallucinogen effects regardless of serotonergic activity. Thalamo-cortical changes appeared dependent on 5-HT2AR activation. The findings offer a framework for understanding mechanisms common across hallucinogenic drug classes.