bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 12, 2026
Nikola Jajcay, Čestmír Vejmola, Jakub Korčák et al.
Psilocybin accelerates the temporal dynamics of large-scale brain activity while preserving access to the normal repertoire of brain states. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of 15 healthy volunteers, EEG microstate analysis revealed that psilocybin increased the number of global field power peaks and reduced microstate lifespan while increasing their frequency of occurrence during peak intoxication (50–100 minutes after administration), indicating faster transitions between brain states. Microstate coverage was largely unchanged except for a transient difference in the 2–20 Hz bandwidth. Individual differences in these microstate dynamics correlated with both acute subjective experience intensity and self-reported psychological changes 28 days later, suggesting EEG microstates as candidate neural markers linking acute psychedelic effects to longer-term outcomes.
Psychopharmacology
December 13, 2025
David Greguš, Jaroslav Hlinka, Filip Tylš et al.
The spatial organization of the cingulate cortex, rather than the thickness of a single region, predicts the intensity of psychedelic experiences under psilocybin. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study with 25 healthy participants, an anterior–posterior gradient in cingulate thickness significantly predicted psychedelic experience intensity. The previously reported finding that rostral anterior cingulate cortex thickness alone predicts emotional responses showed a comparable effect size but did not reach statistical significance, likely due to the smaller sample size. These results suggest that the pattern of cortical thickness across the cingulate cortex, not focal measures, serves as a neuroanatomical marker of variability in psychedelic response.
Research Square
September 25, 2025
David Greguš, Jaroslav Hlinka, Filip Tylš et al.
Individual differences in how people respond to psilocybin are linked to the structural organization of the cingulate cortex. A previous finding that thickness of a specific cingulate region predicted emotional responses was not replicated. Instead, a broader anterior-to-posterior gradient of cingulate thickness predicted the overall intensity of the psychedelic experience, and general cingulate thickness was associated with the balance between anxiety and visionary states. These results suggest that patterns of cortical thickness across the cingulate, rather than a single region, may serve as a neuroanatomical marker for predicting psychedelic response, with potential implications for personalized dosing in therapy.