Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience
Enzo Tagliazucchi, Robin Carhart-Harris, Robert Leech, David Nutt,, Dante R. Chialvo

TL;DR
This study investigates how psilocybin alters brain dynamics and connectivity, revealing increased variability and a broader range of connectivity states, which may explain the unconstrained consciousness experienced during the psychedelic state.
Contribution
The paper introduces a novel framework to track brain connectivity states, demonstrating increased repertoire of states during psilocybin-induced altered consciousness.
Findings
Increased BOLD signal variability in hippocampi and anterior cingulate cortex.
Alterations in spectral behavior in default mode, executive control, and dorsal attention networks.
Wider repertoire of connectivity states post-psilocybin.
Abstract
The study of rapid changes in brain dynamics and functional connectivity (FC) is of increasing interest in neuroimaging. Brain states departing from normal waking consciousness are expected to be accompanied by alterations in the aforementioned dynamics. In particular, the psychedelic experience produced by psilocybin (a substance found in `magic mushrooms`) is characterized by unconstrained cognition and profound alterations in the perception of time, space and selfhood. Considering the spontaneous and subjective manifestation of these effects, we hypothesize that neural correlates of the psychedelic experience can be found in the dynamics and variability of spontaneous brain activity fluctuations and connectivity, measurable with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Fifteen healthy subjects were scanned before, during and after intravenous infusion of psilocybin and an inert…
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