Serotonergic psychedelics temporarily modify information transfer in humans.

ABSTRACT: Psychedelics induce intense modifications in the sensorium, the sense of "self," and the experience of reality. Despite advances in our understanding of the molecular and cellular level mechanisms of these drugs, knowledge of their actions on global brain dynamics is still incomplete. Recent imaging studies have found changes in functional coupling between frontal and parietal brain structures, suggesting a modification in information flow between brain regions during acute effects. Here we assessed the psychedelic-induced changes in directionality of information flow during the acute effects of a psychedelic in humans. We measured modifications in connectivity of brain oscillations using transfer entropy, a nonlinear measure of directed functional connectivity based on information theory.

SUBMITTER: Alonso JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4571623 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature