Investigating Emotional Reactivity in Experienced Users of Psychedelics: A Cross‐Sectional fMRI Study
Human Brain Mapping April 1, 2026 Paweł Orłowski, Aleksandra Domagalik, Michał Bola
People who have used classic psychedelics many times (at least 10 lifetime uses) recognize angry facial expressions more quickly and accurately than nonusers, indicating enhanced processing of threat-related cues. In an fMRI study comparing 33 experienced psychedelic users with 34 matched nonusers, users showed reduced brain activation to angry faces in key limbic and salience network regions, along with heightened responses to happy expressions in parietal and sensorimotor cortices and increased precuneus activation to fearful expressions. Reduced differentiation between emotional categories appeared in two default mode network nodes. These neurofunctional changes suggest that naturalistic psychedelic use modulates emotional processing in ways that complement findings from clinical settings.