OPEN Foundation

R. Leech

Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis

October 8, 2012 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychosis, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic and a candidate drug model of psychosis. This study measured the effects of psilocybin on resting-state network and thalamocortical functional connectivity (FC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy volunteers received intravenous infusions of psilocybin and placebo in 2 task-free resting-state scans. Primary analyses focused on changes in FC between the default-mode- (DMN) and task-positive network (TPN). Spontaneous activity in the DMN is orthogonal to spontaneous activity in the TPN, and it is well known that these networks support very differ -ent functions (ie, the DMN supports introspection, whereas the TPN supports externally focused attention). Here, inde -pendent components and seed-based FC analyses revealed increased DMN-TPN FC and so decreased DMN-TPN orthogonality after psilocybin. Increased DMN-TPN FC has been found in psychosis and meditatory states, which share some phenomenological similarities with the psy -chedelic state. Increased DMN-TPN FC has also been observed in sedation, as has decreased thalamocortical FC, but here we found preserved thalamocortical FC after psi -locybin. Thus, we propose that thalamocortical FC may be related to arousal, whereas DMN-TPN FC is related to the separateness of internally and externally focused states. We suggest that this orthogonality is compromised in early psychosis, explaining similarities between its phenomenol -ogy and that of the psychedelic state and supporting the utility of psilocybin as a model of early psychosis.

Carhart-Harris, R. L., Leech, R., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T. M.,  Stone, J. M.,  Evans, J., …. Nutt, D. J. (2012). Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 39(6), 1343-1351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbs117
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Implications for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Functional magnetic resonance imaging study with psilocybin

March 1, 2012 / Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Background: Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic drug that has a history of use in psychotherapy. One of the rationales for its use was that it aids emotional insight by lowering psychological defences.

Aims: To test the hypothesis that psilocybin facilitates access to personal memories and emotions by comparing subjective and neural responses to positive autobiographical memories under psilocybin and placebo.

Method: Ten healthy participants received two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans (2 mg intravenous psilocybin v. intravenous saline), separated by approximately 7 days, during which they viewed two different sets of 15 positive autobiographical memory cues. Participants viewed each cue for 6 s and then closed their eyes for 16 s and imagined re-experiencing the event. Activations during this recollection period were compared with an equivalent period of eyes-closed rest. We split the recollection period into an early phase (first 8 s) and a late phase (last 8 s) for analysis.

Results: Robust activations to the memories were seen in limbic and striatal regions in the early phase and the medial prefrontal cortex in the late phase in both conditions (P<0.001, whole brain cluster correction), but there were additional visual and other sensory cortical activations in the late phase under psilocybin that were absent under placebo. Ratings of memory vividness and visual imagery were significantly higher after psilocybin (P<0.05) and there was a significant positive correlation between vividness and subjective well-being at follow-up (P<0.01).

Conclusions: Evidence that psilocybin enhances autobiographical recollection implies that it may be useful in psychotherapy either as a tool to facilitate the recall of salient memories or to reverse negative cognitive biases.

Carhart-Harris, R. L., Leech, R., Williams, T. M., Erritzoe, D., Abbasi, N., Bargiotas, T., … & Wise, R. G. (2012). Implications for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: functional magnetic resonance imaging study with psilocybin. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 200(3), 238-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.111.103309
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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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