Neuroimage
May 25, 2019
Louis-David Lord, Paul Expert, Selen Atasoy et al.
249 citations
Brain function can be understood as the exploration of a repertoire of metastable connectivity patterns that underlie different mental processes. Intravenous infusion of psilocybin rapidly modulates how the brain dynamically explores these resting-state networks. Using a data-driven approach focused on the leading eigenvector of BOLD phase coherence at single-TR resolution, recurrent BOLD phase-locking patterns were assessed pre- and post-infusion. A frontoparietal subsystem pattern was strongly destabilized after psilocybin, while a pattern characterized by global BOLD phase coherence became more probable. These results demonstrate network-specific neuromodulation by psilocybin, bridging molecular pharmacodynamics and whole-brain network dynamics.
Physics Reports
October 24, 2025
Ramón Nartallo-Kaluarachchi, Morten L. Kringelbach, Gustavo Deco et al.
11 citations
The brain's neural activity, observed via electrophysiology and neuroimaging, shows time-irreversibility and broken detailed balance, indicating it operates in a nonequilibrium stationary state rather than a symmetric equilibrium. The degree of this nonequilibrium, measured by entropy production or irreversibility, appears to be a key marker of cognitive complexity and consciousness. This review introduces the mathematical frameworks for understanding nonequilibrium dynamics in continuous and discrete state-spaces, then surveys model-free and model-based analysis methods applied to neural recordings and spike-trains. It also touches on nonequilibrium computation in neural systems and concludes with a discussion of future directions for this emergent field at the intersection of nonequilibrium statistical physics and neuroscience.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 25, 2018
Louis-David Lord, Paul Expert, Selen Atasoy et al.
10 citations
preprint
Brain activity can be viewed as exploring a landscape of different activity patterns over time, shifting between stable states of functional connectivity that support various mental processes. In a study using fMRI data from healthy participants given intravenous psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms), researchers analyzed how this dynamical landscape changes during the psychedelic state. They found that a connectivity state linked to the fronto-parietal control system became strongly destabilized, while transitions toward a globally synchronized state increased. These changes suggest the psychedelic state biases the brain toward global integration at the cost of local network segregation, offering a mechanistic perspective on the subjective psychedelic experience and potential guidance for pharmacological interventions in neuropsychiatric disorders.