health
Scientists identify ‘neural fingerprint’ of psychedelic drugs in the brain
Analysis of more than 500 brain scans finds LSD, psilocybin and other psychedelics increase cross-talk between brain systems
TL;DR
- Scientists have identified a common 'neural fingerprint' of psychedelic drugs in the human brain.
- The study analyzed over 500 brain scans from 267 individuals across five countries, examining LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline, and ayahuasca.
- Psychedelics were found to dissolve the usual hierarchy of brain systems, leading to increased 'cross-talk' between different brain networks.
- Stronger communication was observed between higher-level thinking networks and primitive networks linked to vision and sensation.
- The research aims to provide a solid foundation for the growing field of psychedelic research, which is exploring these drugs as potential therapies for mental health conditions.
- Contrary to some previous claims, the study found little reliable evidence of individual brain networks 'disintegrating' on psychedelics.