Alterations in brain network connectivity and subjective experience induced by psychedelics: a scoping review

Zijia Yu; Lisa Burback; Olga Winkler; Lujie Xu; Liz Dennett; Eric Vermetten; Andrew Greenshaw; Xin-Min Li; Michaela Milne; Fei Wang; Bo Cao; Ian R Winship; Yanbo Zhang; Allen W Chan

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1386321

Alterations in brain network connectivity and subjective experience induced by psychedelics: a scoping review

Front Psychiatry. 2024 May 14:15:1386321. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1386321. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Zijia Yu¹, Lisa Burback¹, Olga Winkler¹, Lujie Xu¹, Liz Dennett², Eric Vermetten³, Andrew Greenshaw^{1

4}, Xin-Min Li^{1

4}, Michaela Milne^{1

5}, Fei Wang⁶, Bo Cao^{1

4}, Ian R Winship^{1

4}, Yanbo Zhang^{1

4}, Allen W Chan^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
² Sperber Health Sciences Library, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands.
⁴ Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
⁵ Institute of Human Nutrition at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
⁶ Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Brain Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

Abstract

Intense interest surrounds current research on psychedelics, particularly regarding their potential in treating mental health disorders. Various studies suggest a link between the subjective effects produced by psychedelics and their therapeutic efficacy. Neuroimaging evidence indicates an association of changes in brain functional connectivity with the subjective effects of psychedelics. We conducted a review focusing on psychedelics and brain functional connectivity. The review focused on four psychedelic drugs: ayahuasca, psilocybin and LSD, and the entactogen MDMA. We conducted searches in databases of MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycInfo and Scopus from inception to Jun 2023 by keywords related to functional connectivity and psychedelics. Using the PRISMA framework, we selected 24 articles from an initial pool of 492 for analysis. This scoping review and analysis investigated the effects of psychedelics on subjective experiences and brain functional connectivity in healthy individuals. The studies quantified subjective effects through psychometric scales, revealing significant experiences of altered consciousness, mood elevation, and mystical experiences induced by psychedelics. Neuroimaging results indicated alterations in the functional connectivity of psychedelics, with consistent findings across substances of decreased connectivity within the default mode network and increased sensory and thalamocortical connectivity. Correlations between these neurophysiological changes and subjective experiences were noted, suggesting a brain network basis of the psychedelics' neuropsychological impact. While the result of the review provides a potential neural mechanism of the subjective effects of psychedelics, direct clinical evidence is needed to advance their clinical outcomes. Our research serves as a foundation for further exploration of the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

Keywords: LSD; MDMA; ayahuasca; functional connectivity; psilocybin; psychedelics; subjective effects.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by a start-up award from the University of Alberta (YZ), the Brain Canada Foundation Future Leaders Award (AWC), and a Puzzles of the Mind award from the Scottish Charitable Rite Foundation (AWC). NSERC Discovery Grant RGPIN-2020-05988 (AWC). The support provided by China Scholarship Council (CSC) is acknowledged (YZ).