Study Investigates Brain Activity Under Psychedelics

<p>For about a decade, the mainstream understanding has been that psychedelics cause chaos in the brain. Brain networks—the stable patterns of communication that handle vision, attention, or our sense of self, and more—loosen and start talking to each other all at once. EEG traces get noisier and more complex. Devon Stoliker, a neuroscientist at Monash University, stated, “Think of the networks of the brain as highways. Under psychedelics, these highways break down into many different directions.”</p><p>In a recent study published in Nature, Stoliker’s team designed an experiment to test whether these directions are truly chaotic and random. Researchers gathered 62 participants who had never taken a psychedelic before, administered 19 milligrams of psilocybin, a common psychedelic found in certain fungi, and scanned their brains. They then used AI to analyze the brain scans from both the drugged and sober states. The results did not indicate chaos.</p><h2>An Uninterrupted Trip</h2><p>Stoliker believes that chaos does not adequately explain the effects of psychedelics on the brain. He noted, “It never really explained why an individual would have a meaningful experience, why they might have insight, why they might experience clarity, and why these might translate into positive psychological changes.” To explore alternative explanations, he and his colleagues designed a study called PsiConnect.</p>