Effect of LSD and music on the time-varying brain dynamics

Listening to music while under the influence of LSD alters the brain's moment-to-moment patterns of activity, particularly in networks linked to attention and task performance. In a study of 15 participants who underwent functional MRI scans after taking LSD or a placebo, the combination of music and LSD changed how long the brain stayed in a task-positive state. LSD alone, regardless of music, affected the dynamics of a state involving the default mode, somatomotor, and visual networks. Music itself appeared to have a lingering effect on resting-state brain activity, especially on networks associated with tasks. These findings suggest that music, as part of the setting, can shape the psychedelic experience at a neural level.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Rationale Psychedelics are getting closer to being widely used in clinical treatment. Music is known as a key element of psychedelic-assisted therapy due to its psychological effects, specifically on the emotion, meaning-making and sensory processing. However, there is still a lack of understanding in how psychedelics influence brain activity in experimental settings involving music listening. Objectives The main goal of our research is to investigate the effect of music, as a part of “setting”, on the brain states dynamics after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) intake. Methods We used an open dataset, where a group of 15 participants underwent two functional MRI scanning sessions under LSD and placebo influence. Every scanning session contained three runs: two resting-state runs separated by one run with music listening. We applied K-Means clustering to identify the repetitive patterns of brain activity, so-called brain states . For further analysis, we calculated states’ dwell time, fractional occupancy and transition probability. Results The interaction effect of music and psychedelics led to change in the time-varying brain activity of the task-positive state. LSD, regardless of the music, affected the dynamics of the state of combined activity of DMN, SOM and VIS networks. Crucially, we observed that the music itself could potentially have a long-term influence on the resting-state, in particular on states involving task-positive networks. Conclusions This study indicates that music, as a crucial element of “setting”, can potentially have an influence on the subject’s resting-state during psychedelic experience. Further studies should replicate these results on a larger sample size.