Psychedelic concentrations of nitrous oxide reduce functional differentiation in frontoparietal and somatomotor cortical networks.
Commun Biol December 19, 2023 Rui Dai, Zirui Huang, Tony E. Larkin et al. 7 citations
At concentrations that produce psychedelic effects, nitrous oxide reduces the functional differentiation—the distinctness of activity patterns—within frontoparietal and somatomotor cortical networks. This suggests that the gas alters brain network organization, potentially contributing to its consciousness-altering properties. The finding points to a neural mechanism underlying the non-ordinary state induced by nitrous oxide, involving reduced specialization of key brain regions.