Psilocybin for disorders of consciousness: A case-report study.
Paolo Cardone, Pablo Núñez, Naji L N Alnagger, Charlotte Martial, Glenn J M van der Lande, Robin Sandell, Robin Carhart-Harris, Olivia Gosseries
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology May 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2025.02.264 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA patient in a minimally conscious state plus received psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, for the first time. No increase in overt behavioral repertoire was observed on validated scales, but new spontaneous behavior not previously seen emerged, and brain complexity, measured by the Lempel-Ziv complexity index, increased with changes in underlying periodic rhythms. This case report contributes to future investigations of psychedelics for disorders of consciousness and the link between brain complexity and consciousness.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Patient in a minimally conscious state plus |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Brain complexity Disorders of consciousness Psychedelics Severe brain injury Therapy |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key finding | Psilocybin administration did not increase overt behavioral repertoire on validated scales but elicited new spontaneous behavior and increased brain complexity in a patient with a disorder of consciousness. |
Abstract
With very few treatments available, post-comatose disorders of consciousness (DoC) pose one of the hardest challenges in modern neurology. Following promising clinical trial results in psychiatry, and a deepening understanding of their brain mechanisms, psychedelics have been suggested as a novel therapeutic drug for DoC patients, given that they increase the entropy or complexity of spontaneous activity in healthy participants. However, no attempts have been so far performed in patients with DoC. In this case report, we describe the first-ever administration of psilocybin, a classic psychedelic (i.e., agonist at the 5-HT2A receptor), to a patient in a minimally conscious state plus. We report the behavioural effects and changes in neurophysiology measured with EEG. We report no increase in overt behavioural repertoire with validated scales, yet new spontaneous behaviour not previously seen, and increased brain complexity, as measured by the Lempel-Ziv complexity index, with changes in the underlying periodic rhythms. This study contributes to future investigations exploring the use of psychedelics in DoC, enriching the discussion surrounding the role of psychedelics in medicine, and the link between brain complexity and consciousness. This is the first-ever report of a classic psychedelic used as a treatment for post-comatose DoC.