The neuro-cognitive effects of psilocybin

Cognitive Neuroscience

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TED talk by Prof. Roland Griffith (John Hopkins)
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/results/directory/profile/1311852/roland-griffiths

Research on psilocybin & creativity


Spitzer, M., Thimm, M., Hermle, L., Holzmann, P., Kovar, K.-A., Heimann, H., … Schneider, F.. (1996). Increased activation of indirect semantic associations under psilocybin. Biological Psychiatry, 39(12), 1055–1057.

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/0006-3223(95)00418-1
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Kuypers, K. P. C.. (2018). Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind. Medical Hypotheses, 115, 13–16.

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.03.010
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Prochazkova, L., Lippelt, D. P., Colzato, L. S., Kuchar, M., Sjoerds, Z., & Hommel, B.. (2018). Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting. Psychopharmacology, 235(12), 3401–3413.

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5049-7
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Show additional publications on psilocybin & creativity


Psilocybin_increases_creativity_via ego_dissolution_and_Openness_to_Experience-A_synopsis_and_hypothesis_by_Christopher_B_Germann

For further information on the “ego-dissolution/creativity hypothesis” see:

Germann, C. B.. (2019). 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine: An ego-dissolving endogenous neurochemical catalyst of creativity. BioRxiv

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1101/578435
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Psilocybin reduces depression

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Source: https://media.springernature.com/full/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-017-13282-7/MediaObjects/41598_2017_13282_Fig1_HTML.jpg
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roseman, L., Bolstridge, M., Demetriou, L., Pannekoek, J. N., Wall, M. B., … Nutt, D. J.. (2017). Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Scientific Reports

, 7(1), 13187.
Plain numerical DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13282-7
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Flaherty, A. W.. (2011). Brain illness and creativity: Mechanisms and treatment risks. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1177/070674371105600303
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Psilocybin enhances functional connectivity in the brain

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Neuronal interconnectivity

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Distributed functional brain network associated with divergent thinking Roger E. Beaty, Mathias Benedek, Scott Barry Kaufman, and Paul J. Silvia – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4724474/#R26

Abstract: Psychedelic drugs have a long history of use in healing ceremonies, but despite renewed interest in their therapeutic potential, we continue to know very little about howthey work in the brain. Here we used psilocybin, a classic psychedelic found in magic mushrooms, and a task-free functional MRI (fMRI) protocol designed to capture the transition from normalwaking consciousness to the psychedelic state. Arterial spin labeling perfusion and blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI were used to map cerebral blood flow and changes in venous oxygenation before and after intravenous infusions of placebo and psilocybin. Fifteen healthy volunteers were scanned with arterial spin labeling and a separate 15 with BOLD. As predicted, profound changes in consciousness were observed after psilocybin, but surprisingly, only decreases in cerebral blood flow and BOLD signal were seen, and these were maximal in hub regions, such as the thalamus and anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC and PCC). Decreased activity in the ACC/medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was a consistent finding and the magnitude of this decrease predicted the intensity of the subjective effects. Based on these results, a seed-based pharmaco-physiological interaction/ functional connectivity analysis was performed using a medial prefrontal seed. Psilocybin caused a significant decrease in the positive coupling between the mPFC and PCC. These results strongly imply that the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs are caused by decreased activity and connectivity in the brain’s key connector hubs, enabling a state of unconstrained cognition.

Carhart-Harris, R. L., Erritzoe, D., Williams, T., Stone, J. M., Reed, L. J., Colasanti, A., … Nutt, D. J.. (2012). Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(6), 2138–2143.

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1119598109
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