Physiology of Cognition, GIGA Research, CRC Human Imaging Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research FNRS, Brussels, Belgium.
2 papers in the library · 22 citations · publishing 2023-2024
Psilocybin produces profound alterations in both brain connectivity and subjective experience. In a randomized study, healthy volunteers received psilocybin or placebo and underwent ultrahigh field 7T fMRI scanning during the peak drug effect. Psilocybin caused widespread increases in averaged brain functional connectivity and a recurrent hyperconnected brain pattern with low blood oxygen level-dependent signal amplitude, suggesting heightened cortical arousal. This hyperconnected pattern was linked to feelings of oceanic boundlessness and visionary restructuralization. The brain's tendency to enter this hyperconnected-hyperarousal state may underlie the variant mental associations characteristic of the psychedelic experience.
Psilocybin increases functional connectivity across the brain and induces a recurrent hyperconnected pattern with low BOLD signal amplitude, suggesting heightened cortical arousal. These brain dynamics are linked to feelings of oceanic boundlessness and visionary restructuralization, as measured by the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale. The brain's tendency to enter this hyperconnected-hyperarousal pattern under psilocybin may enable variant mental associations. For the first time, these findings connect brain dynamics with phenomenological alterations, offering new insights into the neurophenomenology and neurophysiology of the psychedelic state.