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Yang WF, Sparby T, Wright M, Kim E, Sacchet MD. Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption meditation and the case of jhana. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31223. [PMID: 38803854 PMCID: PMC11129010 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Meditation has been integral to human culture for millennia, deeply rooted in various spiritual and contemplative traditions. While the field of contemplative science has made significant steps toward understanding the effects of meditation on health and well-being, there has been little study of advanced meditative states, including those achieved through intense concentration and absorption. We refer to these types of states as advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM), characterized by absorption with the meditation object leading to states of heightened attention, clarity, energy, effortlessness, and bliss. This review focuses on a type of ACAM known as jhana (ACAM-J) due to its well-documented history, systematic practice approach, recurring phenomenological themes, and growing popularity among contemplative scientists and more generally in media and society. ACAM-J encompasses eight layers of deep concentration, awareness, and internal experiences. Here, we describe the phenomenology of ACAM-J and present evidence from phenomenological and neuroscientific studies that highlight their potential applications in contemplative practices, psychological sciences, and therapeutics. We additionally propose theoretical ACAM-J frameworks grounded in current cognitive neuroscientific understanding of meditation and ancient contemplative traditions. We aim to stimulate further research on ACAM more broadly, encompassing advanced meditation including meditative development and meditative endpoints. Studying advanced meditation including ACAM, and specific practices such as ACAM-J, can potentially revolutionize our understanding of consciousness and applications for mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winson F.Z. Yang
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Terje Sparby
- Steiner University College, 0260, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448, Witten, Germany
- Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448, Witten, Germany
| | - Malcolm Wright
- School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
| | - Eunmi Kim
- Center for Contemplative Science, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Matthew D. Sacchet
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Lewis EC, Jaeger A, Girn M, Omene E, Brendle M, Argento E. Exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy in the treatment of functional seizures: A review of underlying mechanisms and associated brain networks. J Psychopharmacol 2024; 38:407-416. [PMID: 38654554 PMCID: PMC11102649 DOI: 10.1177/02698811241248395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Functional seizures (FS), the most common subtype of functional neurological disorder (FND), cause serious neurological disability and significantly impact quality of life. Characterized by episodic disturbances of functioning that resemble epileptic seizures, FS coincide with multiple comorbidities and are treated poorly by existing approaches. Novel treatment approaches are sorely needed. Notably, mounting evidence supports the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) for several psychiatric conditions, motivating investigations into whether this efficacy also extends to neurological disorders. Here, we synthesize past empirical findings and frameworks to construct a biopsychosocial mechanistic argument for the potential of PAT as a treatment for FS. In doing so, we highlight FS as a well-defined cohort to further understand the large-scale neural mechanisms underpinning PAT. Our synthesis is guided by a complexity science perspective which we contend can afford unique mechanistic insight into both FS and PAT, as well as help bridge these two domains. We also leverage this perspective to propose a novel analytic roadmap to identify markers of FS diagnostic specificity and treatment success. This endeavor continues the effort to bridge clinical neurology with psychedelic medicine and helps pave the way for a new field of psychedelic neurology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Cole Lewis
- Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Manesh Girn
- Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Madeline Brendle
- Numinus Wellness Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Health Outcomes Division, College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Elena Argento
- Numinus Wellness Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
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3
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Vohryzek J, Cabral J, Timmermann C, Atasoy S, Roseman L, Nutt DJ, Carhart-Harris RL, Deco G, Kringelbach ML. The flattening of spacetime hierarchy of the N,N-dimethyltryptamine brain state is characterized by harmonic decomposition of spacetime (HADES) framework. Natl Sci Rev 2024; 11:nwae124. [PMID: 38778818 PMCID: PMC11110867 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwae124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The human brain is a complex system, whose activity exhibits flexible and continuous reorganization across space and time. The decomposition of whole-brain recordings into harmonic modes has revealed a repertoire of gradient-like activity patterns associated with distinct brain functions. However, the way these activity patterns are expressed over time with their changes in various brain states remains unclear. Here, we investigate healthy participants taking the serotonergic psychedelic N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with the Harmonic Decomposition of Spacetime (HADES) framework that can characterize how different harmonic modes defined in space are expressed over time. HADES demonstrates significant decreases in contributions across most low-frequency harmonic modes in the DMT-induced brain state. When normalizing the contributions by condition (DMT and non-DMT), we detect a decrease specifically in the second functional harmonic, which represents the uni- to transmodal functional hierarchy of the brain, supporting the leading hypothesis that functional hierarchy is changed in psychedelics. Moreover, HADES' dynamic spacetime measures of fractional occupancy, life time and latent space provide a precise description of the significant changes of the spacetime hierarchical organization of brain activity in the psychedelic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Vohryzek
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9BX, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08005, Spain
| | - Joana Cabral
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9BX, UK
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga 4710-057, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães 4710-057, Portugal
| | - Christopher Timmermann
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Selen Atasoy
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9BX, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Leor Roseman
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David J Nutt
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco 94143, USA
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08005, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona 08010, Spain
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9BX, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
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4
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Rué‐Queralt J, Fluhr H, Tourbier S, Aleman‐Gómez Y, Pascucci D, Yerly J, Glomb K, Plomp G, Hagmann P. Connectome spectrum electromagnetic tomography: A method to reconstruct electrical brain source networks at high-spatial resolution. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26638. [PMID: 38520365 PMCID: PMC10960556 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Connectome spectrum electromagnetic tomography (CSET) combines diffusion MRI-derived structural connectivity data with well-established graph signal processing tools to solve the M/EEG inverse problem. Using simulated EEG signals from fMRI responses, and two EEG datasets on visual-evoked potentials, we provide evidence supporting that (i) CSET captures realistic neurophysiological patterns with better accuracy than state-of-the-art methods, (ii) CSET can reconstruct brain responses more accurately and with more robustness to intrinsic noise in the EEG signal. These results demonstrate that CSET offers high spatio-temporal accuracy, enabling neuroscientists to extend their research beyond the current limitations of low sampling frequency in functional MRI and the poor spatial resolution of M/EEG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Rué‐Queralt
- Department of RadiologyLausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV‐UNIL)LausanneSwitzerland
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of FribourgFribourgSwitzerland
- Center for ImagingEPFLLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Hugo Fluhr
- Department of RadiologyLausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV‐UNIL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Sebastien Tourbier
- Department of RadiologyLausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV‐UNIL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Yasser Aleman‐Gómez
- Department of RadiologyLausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV‐UNIL)LausanneSwitzerland
- Department of PsychiatryLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
| | | | - Jérôme Yerly
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional RadiologyLausanne University HospitalLausanneSwitzerland
- Center for Biomedical ImagingEPFLLausanneSwitzerland
| | - Katharina Glomb
- Department of NeurologyCharité University Medicine Berlin and Berlin Institute of HealthBerlinGermany
| | - Gijs Plomp
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of FribourgFribourgSwitzerland
| | - Patric Hagmann
- Department of RadiologyLausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne (CHUV‐UNIL)LausanneSwitzerland
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5
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Ruffini G, Lopez-Sola E, Vohryzek J, Sanchez-Todo R. Neural Geometrodynamics, Complexity, and Plasticity: A Psychedelics Perspective. ENTROPY (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 26:90. [PMID: 38275498 PMCID: PMC11154528 DOI: 10.3390/e26010090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
We explore the intersection of neural dynamics and the effects of psychedelics in light of distinct timescales in a framework integrating concepts from dynamics, complexity, and plasticity. We call this framework neural geometrodynamics for its parallels with general relativity's description of the interplay of spacetime and matter. The geometry of trajectories within the dynamical landscape of "fast time" dynamics are shaped by the structure of a differential equation and its connectivity parameters, which themselves evolve over "slow time" driven by state-dependent and state-independent plasticity mechanisms. Finally, the adjustment of plasticity processes (metaplasticity) takes place in an "ultraslow" time scale. Psychedelics flatten the neural landscape, leading to heightened entropy and complexity of neural dynamics, as observed in neuroimaging and modeling studies linking increases in complexity with a disruption of functional integration. We highlight the relationship between criticality, the complexity of fast neural dynamics, and synaptic plasticity. Pathological, rigid, or "canalized" neural dynamics result in an ultrastable confined repertoire, allowing slower plastic changes to consolidate them further. However, under the influence of psychedelics, the destabilizing emergence of complex dynamics leads to a more fluid and adaptable neural state in a process that is amplified by the plasticity-enhancing effects of psychedelics. This shift manifests as an acute systemic increase of disorder and a possibly longer-lasting increase in complexity affecting both short-term dynamics and long-term plastic processes. Our framework offers a holistic perspective on the acute effects of these substances and their potential long-term impacts on neural structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Ruffini
- Brain Modeling Department, Neuroelectrics, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (E.L.-S.); (R.S.-T.)
| | - Edmundo Lopez-Sola
- Brain Modeling Department, Neuroelectrics, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (E.L.-S.); (R.S.-T.)
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08018 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Jakub Vohryzek
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08018 Barcelona, Spain;
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9BX, UK
| | - Roser Sanchez-Todo
- Brain Modeling Department, Neuroelectrics, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; (E.L.-S.); (R.S.-T.)
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08018 Barcelona, Spain;
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Yang WFZ, Chowdhury A, Bianciardi M, van Lutterveld R, Sparby T, Sacchet MD. Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad408. [PMID: 37943791 PMCID: PMC10793575 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Jhanas are profound states of mind achieved through advanced meditation, offering valuable insights into the nature of consciousness and tools to enhance well-being. Yet, its neurophenomenology remains limited due to methodological difficulties and the rarity of advanced meditation practitioners. We conducted a highly exploratory study to investigate the neurophenomenology of jhanas in an intensively sampled adept meditator case study (4 hr 7T fMRI collected in 27 sessions) who performed jhana meditation and rated specific aspects of experience immediately thereafter. Linear mixed models and correlations were used to examine relations among brain activity and jhana phenomenology. We identified distinctive patterns of brain activity in specific cortical, subcortical, brainstem, and cerebellar regions associated with jhana. Furthermore, we observed correlations between brain activity and phenomenological qualities of attention, jhanic qualities, and narrative processing, highlighting the distinct nature of jhanas compared to non-meditative states. Our study presents the most rigorous evidence yet that jhana practice deconstructs consciousness, offering unique insights into consciousness and significant implications for mental health and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winson Fu Zun Yang
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Avijit Chowdhury
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Marta Bianciardi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Remko van Lutterveld
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, CX Utrecht 3584, the Netherlands
- Brain Research & Innovation Centre, Ministry of Defence, AA Utrecht 3509, the Netherlands
| | - Terje Sparby
- Steiner University College, Oslo 0260, Norway
- Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten 58448, Germany
- Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
| | - Matthew D Sacchet
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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7
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Luppi AI, Girn M, Rosas FE, Timmermann C, Roseman L, Erritzoe D, Nutt DJ, Stamatakis EA, Spreng RN, Xing L, Huttner WB, Carhart-Harris RL. A role for the serotonin 2A receptor in the expansion and functioning of human transmodal cortex. Brain 2024; 147:56-80. [PMID: 37703310 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Integrating independent but converging lines of research on brain function and neurodevelopment across scales, this article proposes that serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) signalling is an evolutionary and developmental driver and potent modulator of the macroscale functional organization of the human cerebral cortex. A wealth of evidence indicates that the anatomical and functional organization of the cortex follows a unimodal-to-transmodal gradient. Situated at the apex of this processing hierarchy-where it plays a central role in the integrative processes underpinning complex, human-defining cognition-the transmodal cortex has disproportionately expanded across human development and evolution. Notably, the adult human transmodal cortex is especially rich in 5-HT2AR expression and recent evidence suggests that, during early brain development, 5-HT2AR signalling on neural progenitor cells stimulates their proliferation-a critical process for evolutionarily-relevant cortical expansion. Drawing on multimodal neuroimaging and cross-species investigations, we argue that, by contributing to the expansion of the human cortex and being prevalent at the apex of its hierarchy in the adult brain, 5-HT2AR signalling plays a major role in both human cortical expansion and functioning. Owing to its unique excitatory and downstream cellular effects, neuronal 5-HT2AR agonism promotes neuroplasticity, learning and cognitive and psychological flexibility in a context-(hyper)sensitive manner with therapeutic potential. Overall, we delineate a dual role of 5-HT2ARs in enabling both the expansion and modulation of the human transmodal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, NW1 2DB, UK
| | - Manesh Girn
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2B4, Canada
- Psychedelics Division-Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California SanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Christopher Timmermann
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Leor Roseman
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David Erritzoe
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David J Nutt
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - R Nathan Spreng
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Lei Xing
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, 01307, Germany
| | - Wieland B Huttner
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, 01307, Germany
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Psychedelics Division-Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California SanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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8
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Jerotic K, Vuust P, Kringelbach ML. Psychedelia: The interplay of music and psychedelics. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2024; 1531:12-28. [PMID: 37983198 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Music and psychedelics have been intertwined throughout the existence of Homo sapiens, from the early shamanic rituals of the Americas and Africa to the modern use of psychedelic-assisted therapy for a variety of mental health conditions. Across such settings, music has been highly prized for its ability to guide the psychedelic experience. Here, we examine the interplay between music and psychedelics, starting by describing their association with the brain's functional hierarchy that is relied upon for music perception and its psychedelic-induced manipulation, as well as an exploration of the limited research on their mechanistic neural overlap. We explore music's role in Western psychedelic therapy and the use of music in indigenous psychedelic rituals, with a specific focus on ayahuasca and the Santo Daime Church. Furthermore, we explore work relating to the evolution and onset of music and psychedelic use. Finally, we consider music's potential to lead to altered states of consciousness in the absence of psychedelics as well as the development of psychedelic music. Here, we provide an overview of several perspectives on the interaction between psychedelic use and music-a topic with growing interest given increasing excitement relating to the therapeutic efficacy of psychedelic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Jerotic
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Aarhus, Denmark
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9
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Luppi AI, Vohryzek J, Kringelbach ML, Mediano PAM, Craig MM, Adapa R, Carhart-Harris RL, Roseman L, Pappas I, Peattie ARD, Manktelow AE, Sahakian BJ, Finoia P, Williams GB, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Menon DK, Atasoy S, Stamatakis EA. Distributed harmonic patterns of structure-function dependence orchestrate human consciousness. Commun Biol 2023; 6:117. [PMID: 36709401 PMCID: PMC9884288 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04474-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A central question in neuroscience is how consciousness arises from the dynamic interplay of brain structure and function. Here we decompose functional MRI signals from pathological and pharmacologically-induced perturbations of consciousness into distributed patterns of structure-function dependence across scales: the harmonic modes of the human structural connectome. We show that structure-function coupling is a generalisable indicator of consciousness that is under bi-directional neuromodulatory control. We find increased structure-function coupling across scales during loss of consciousness, whether due to anaesthesia or brain injury, capable of discriminating between behaviourally indistinguishable sub-categories of brain-injured patients, tracking the presence of covert consciousness. The opposite harmonic signature characterises the altered state induced by LSD or ketamine, reflecting psychedelic-induced decoupling of brain function from structure and correlating with physiological and subjective scores. Overall, connectome harmonic decomposition reveals how neuromodulation and the network architecture of the human connectome jointly shape consciousness and distributed functional activation across scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1SB, UK.
| | - Jakub Vohryzek
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 08005, Spain
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Michael M Craig
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Ram Adapa
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
- Psychedelics Division - Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA
| | - Leor Roseman
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Ioannis Pappas
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA
| | - Alexander R D Peattie
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Anne E Manktelow
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Barbara J Sahakian
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Paola Finoia
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Division of Neurosurgery, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Guy B Williams
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Judith Allanson
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Neurosciences, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - John D Pickard
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Division of Neurosurgery, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - David K Menon
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Selen Atasoy
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
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10
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Dynamic sensitivity analysis: Defining personalised strategies to drive brain state transitions via whole brain modelling. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 21:335-345. [PMID: 36582443 PMCID: PMC9792354 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.11.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, in neuroimaging, model-free analyses are used to find significant differences between brain states via signal detection theory. Depending on the a priori assumptions about the underlying data, different spatio-temporal features can be analysed. Alternatively, model-based techniques infer features from the data and compare significance from model parameters. However, to assess transitions from one brain state to another remains a challenge in current paradigms. Here, we introduce a "Dynamic Sensitivity Analysis" framework that quantifies transitions between brain states in terms of stimulation ability to rebalance spatio-temporal brain activity towards a target state such as healthy brain dynamics. In practice, it means building a whole-brain model fitted to the spatio-temporal description of brain dynamics, and applying systematic stimulations in-silico to assess the optimal strategy to drive brain dynamics towards a target state. Further, we show how Dynamic Sensitivity Analysis extends to various brain stimulation paradigms, ultimately contributing to improving the efficacy of personalised clinical interventions.
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Key Words
- Brain State
- Brain stimulation
- Deep Brain Stimulation, DBS
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI
- Non-Invasive Brain Stimulations, NIBS
- Position Emission Tomography, PET
- Probability Metastable Substates, PMS
- Spatio-temporal dynamics
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, TMS
- Transition Probability Matrix, TPM
- Whole-brain models
- diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, dMRI
- dynamic Functional Connectivity, dFC
- functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fMRI
- static Functional Connectivity, sFC
- transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation, tACS
- transcranial Direct Stimulation, tDCS
- transcranial Electric Stimulation, tES
- transcranial Random Noise Stimulation, tRNS
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11
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Singleton SP, Luppi AI, Carhart-Harris RL, Cruzat J, Roseman L, Nutt DJ, Deco G, Kringelbach ML, Stamatakis EA, Kuceyeski A. Receptor-informed network control theory links LSD and psilocybin to a flattening of the brain's control energy landscape. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5812. [PMID: 36192411 PMCID: PMC9530221 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33578-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychedelics including lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin temporarily alter subjective experience through their neurochemical effects. Serotonin 2a (5-HT2a) receptor agonism by these compounds is associated with more diverse (entropic) brain activity. We postulate that this increase in entropy may arise in part from a flattening of the brain's control energy landscape, which can be observed using network control theory to quantify the energy required to transition between recurrent brain states. Using brain states derived from existing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets, we show that LSD and psilocybin reduce control energy required for brain state transitions compared to placebo. Furthermore, across individuals, reduction in control energy correlates with more frequent state transitions and increased entropy of brain state dynamics. Through network control analysis that incorporates the spatial distribution of 5-HT2a receptors (obtained from publicly available positron emission tomography (PET) data under non-drug conditions), we demonstrate an association between the 5-HT2a receptor and reduced control energy. Our findings provide evidence that 5-HT2a receptor agonist compounds allow for more facile state transitions and more temporally diverse brain activity. More broadly, we demonstrate that receptor-informed network control theory can model the impact of neuropharmacological manipulation on brain activity dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Parker Singleton
- Department of Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Psychedelics Division, Neuroscape, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Josephine Cruzat
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Santiago, Chile.,Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leor Roseman
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - David J Nutt
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona, Spain.,Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Center of Music in the Brain (MIB), Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Amy Kuceyeski
- Department of Computational Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.,Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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12
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Cruzat J, Perl YS, Escrichs A, Vohryzek J, Timmermann C, Roseman L, Luppi AI, Ibañez A, Nutt D, Carhart-Harris R, Tagliazucchi E, Deco G, Kringelbach ML. Effects of classic psychedelic drugs on turbulent signatures in brain dynamics. Netw Neurosci 2022; 6:1104-1124. [PMID: 38800462 PMCID: PMC11117113 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Psychedelic drugs show promise as safe and effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders, yet their mechanisms of action are not fully understood. A fundamental hypothesis is that psychedelics work by dose-dependently changing the functional hierarchy of brain dynamics, but it is unclear whether different psychedelics act similarly. Here, we investigated the changes in the brain's functional hierarchy associated with two different psychedelics (LSD and psilocybin). Using a novel turbulence framework, we were able to determine the vorticity, that is, the local level of synchronization, that allowed us to extend the standard global time-based measure of metastability to become a local-based measure of both space and time. This framework produced detailed signatures of turbulence-based hierarchical change for each psychedelic drug, revealing consistent and discriminate effects on a higher level network, that is, the default mode network. Overall, our findings directly support a prior hypothesis that psychedelics modulate (i.e., "compress") the functional hierarchy and provide a quantification of these changes for two different psychedelics. Implications for therapeutic applications of psychedelics are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine Cruzat
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Yonatan Sanz Perl
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Anira Escrichs
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jakub Vohryzek
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Timmermann
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Leor Roseman
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea I. Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, United Kingdom
| | - Agustin Ibañez
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA, and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland
| | - David Nutt
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robin Carhart-Harris
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- Psychedelics Division–Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Enzo Tagliazucchi
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile
- Physics Department, University of Buenos Aires, and Buenos Aires Physics Institute, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Morten L. Kringelbach
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
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13
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Alachkar A. Aromatic patterns: Tryptophan aromaticity as a catalyst for the emergence of life and rise of consciousness. Phys Life Rev 2022; 42:93-114. [PMID: 35905538 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2022.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sunlight held the key to the origin of life on Earth. The earliest life forms, cyanobacteria, captured the sunlight to generate energy through photosynthesis. Life on Earth evolved in accordance with the circadian rhythms tied to sensitivity to sunlight patterns. A unique feature of cyanobacterial photosynthetic proteins and circadian rhythms' molecules, and later of nearly all photon-sensing molecules throughout evolution, is that the aromatic amino acid tryptophan (Trp) resides at the center of light-harvesting active sites. In this perspective, I review the literature and integrate evidence from different scientific fields to explore the role Trp plays in photon-sensing capabilities of living organisms through its resonance delocalization of π-electrons. The observations presented here are the product of apparently unrelated phenomena throughout evolution, but nevertheless share consistent patterns of photon-sensing by Trp-containing and Trp-derived molecules. I posit the unique capacity to transfer electrons during photosynthesis in the earliest life forms is conferred to Trp due to its aromaticity. I propose this ability evolved to assume more complex functions, serving as a host for mechanisms underlying mental aptitudes - a concept which provides a theoretical basis for defining the neural correlates of consciousness. The argument made here is that Trp aromaticity may have allowed for the inception of the mechanistic building blocks used to fabricate complexity in higher forms of life. More specifically, Trp aromatic non-locality may have acted as a catalyst for the emergence of consciousness by instigating long-range synchronization and stabilizing the large-scale coherence of neural networks, which mediate functional brain activity. The concepts proposed in this perspective provide a conceptual foundation that invites further interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at examining and defining the role of aromaticity (beyond Trp) in the emergence of life and consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amal Alachkar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; UC Irvine Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics, School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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14
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Vohryzek J, Cabral J, Vuust P, Deco G, Kringelbach ML. Understanding brain states across spacetime informed by whole-brain modelling. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2022; 380:20210247. [PMID: 35599554 PMCID: PMC9125224 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2021.0247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In order to survive in a complex environment, the human brain relies on the ability to flexibly adapt ongoing behaviour according to intrinsic and extrinsic signals. This capability has been linked to specific whole-brain activity patterns whose relative stability (order) allows for consistent functioning, supported by sufficient intrinsic instability needed for optimal adaptability. The emergent, spontaneous balance between order and disorder in brain activity over spacetime underpins distinct brain states. For example, depression is characterized by excessively rigid, highly ordered states, while psychedelics can bring about more disordered, sometimes overly flexible states. Recent developments in systems, computational and theoretical neuroscience have started to make inroads into the characterization of such complex dynamics over space and time. Here, we review recent insights drawn from neuroimaging and whole-brain modelling motivating using mechanistic principles from dynamical system theory to study and characterize brain states. We show how different healthy and altered brain states are associated to characteristic spacetime dynamics which in turn may offer insights that in time can inspire new treatments for rebalancing brain states in disease. This article is part of the theme issue 'Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Vohryzek
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
| | - Joana Cabral
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Peter Vuust
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Morten L. Kringelbach
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, Linacre College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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15
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Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Allanson J, Pickard JD, Williams GB, Craig MM, Finoia P, Peattie ARD, Coppola P, Owen AM, Naci L, Menon DK, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. Whole-brain modelling identifies distinct but convergent paths to unconsciousness in anaesthesia and disorders of consciousness. Commun Biol 2022; 5:384. [PMID: 35444252 PMCID: PMC9021270 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03330-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The human brain entertains rich spatiotemporal dynamics, which are drastically reconfigured when consciousness is lost due to anaesthesia or disorders of consciousness (DOC). Here, we sought to identify the neurobiological mechanisms that explain how transient pharmacological intervention and chronic neuroanatomical injury can lead to common reconfigurations of neural activity. We developed and systematically perturbed a neurobiologically realistic model of whole-brain haemodynamic signals. By incorporating PET data about the cortical distribution of GABA receptors, our computational model reveals a key role of spatially-specific local inhibition for reproducing the functional MRI activity observed during anaesthesia with the GABA-ergic agent propofol. Additionally, incorporating diffusion MRI data obtained from DOC patients reveals that the dynamics that characterise loss of consciousness can also emerge from randomised neuroanatomical connectivity. Our results generalise between anaesthesia and DOC datasets, demonstrating how increased inhibition and connectome perturbation represent distinct neurobiological paths towards the characteristic activity of the unconscious brain. Perturbations in a large-scale whole-brain model suggest that anesthesia and injury may be imparting functionally similar effects in terms of brain dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK.
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Judith Allanson
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Neurosciences, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - John D Pickard
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Division of Neurosurgery, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Guy B Williams
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael M Craig
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paola Finoia
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alexander R D Peattie
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Peter Coppola
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Adrian M Owen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Lorina Naci
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - David K Menon
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Daniel Bor
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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16
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Li D, Vlisides PE, Mashour GA. Dynamic reconfiguration of frequency-specific cortical coactivation patterns during psychedelic and anesthetized states induced by ketamine. Neuroimage 2022; 249:118891. [PMID: 35007718 PMCID: PMC8903080 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that spontaneous brain activity exhibits rich spatiotemporal structure that can be characterized as the exploration of a repertoire of spatially distributed patterns that recur over time. The repertoire of brain states may reflect the capacity for consciousness, since general anesthetics suppress and psychedelic drugs enhance such dynamics. However, the modulation of brain activity repertoire across varying states of consciousness has not yet been studied in a systematic and unified framework. As a unique drug that has both psychedelic and anesthetic properties depending on the dose, ketamine offers an opportunity to examine brain reconfiguration dynamics along a continuum of consciousness. Here we investigated the dynamic organization of cortical activity during wakefulness and during altered states of consciousness induced by different doses of ketamine. Through k-means clustering analysis of the envelope data of source-localized electroencephalographic (EEG) signals, we identified a set of recurring states that represent frequency-specific spatial coactivation patterns. We quantified the effect of ketamine on individual brain states in terms of fractional occupancy and transition probabilities and found that ketamine anesthesia tends to shift the configuration toward brain states with low spatial variability. Furthermore, by assessing the temporal dynamics of the occurrence and transitions of brain states, we showed that subanesthetic ketamine is associated with a richer repertoire, while anesthetic ketamine induces dynamic changes in brain state organization, with the repertoire richness evolving from a reduced level to one comparable to that of normal wakefulness before recovery of consciousness. These results provide a novel description of ketamine's modulation of the dynamic configuration of cortical activity and advance understanding of the neurophysiological mechanism of ketamine in terms of the spatial, temporal, and spectral structures of underlying whole-brain dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duan Li
- Center for Consciousness Science; Department of Anesthesiology.
| | | | - George A Mashour
- Center for Consciousness Science; Department of Anesthesiology; Neuroscience Graduate Program; Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, United States
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17
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Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Harrison DJ, Carhart-Harris RL, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. What it is like to be a bit: an integrated information decomposition account of emergent mental phenomena. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab027. [PMID: 34804593 PMCID: PMC8600547 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A central question in neuroscience concerns the relationship between consciousness and its physical substrate. Here, we argue that a richer characterization of consciousness can be obtained by viewing it as constituted of distinct information-theoretic elements. In other words, we propose a shift from quantification of consciousness-viewed as integrated information-to its decomposition. Through this approach, termed Integrated Information Decomposition (ΦID), we lay out a formal argument that whether the consciousness of a given system is an emergent phenomenon depends on its information-theoretic composition-providing a principled answer to the long-standing dispute on the relationship between consciousness and emergence. Furthermore, we show that two organisms may attain the same amount of integrated information, yet differ in their information-theoretic composition. Building on ΦID's revised understanding of integrated information, termed ΦR, we also introduce the notion of ΦR-ing ratio to quantify how efficiently an entity uses information for conscious processing. A combination of ΦR and ΦR-ing ratio may provide an important way to compare the neural basis of different aspects of consciousness. Decomposition of consciousness enables us to identify qualitatively different 'modes of consciousness', establishing a common space for mapping the phenomenology of different conscious states. We outline both theoretical and empirical avenues to carry out such mapping between phenomenology and information-theoretic modes, starting from a central feature of everyday consciousness: selfhood. Overall, ΦID yields rich new ways to explore the relationship between information, consciousness, and its emergence from neural dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1SB, UK
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK
- Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David J Harrison
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1SB, UK
- Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RH, UK
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Daniel Bor
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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18
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Luppi AI, Golkowski D, Ranft A, Ilg R, Jordan D, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. Brain network integration dynamics are associated with loss and recovery of consciousness induced by sevoflurane. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:2802-2822. [PMID: 33738899 PMCID: PMC8127159 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The dynamic interplay of integration and segregation in the brain is at the core of leading theoretical accounts of consciousness. The human brain dynamically alternates between a sub-state where integration predominates, and a predominantly segregated sub-state, with different roles in supporting cognition and behaviour. Here, we combine graph theory and dynamic functional connectivity to compare resting-state functional MRI data from healthy volunteers before, during, and after loss of responsiveness induced with different concentrations of the inhalational anaesthetic, sevoflurane. We show that dynamic states characterised by high brain integration are especially vulnerable to general anaesthesia, exhibiting attenuated complexity and diminished small-world character. Crucially, these effects are reversed upon recovery, demonstrating their association with consciousness. Higher doses of sevoflurane (3% vol and burst-suppression) also compromise the temporal balance of integration and segregation in the human brain. Additionally, we demonstrate that reduced anticorrelations between the brain's default mode and executive control networks dynamically reconfigure depending on the brain's state of integration or segregation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the integrated sub-state of brain connectivity is especially vulnerable to anaesthesia, in terms of both its complexity and information capacity, whose breakdown represents a generalisable biomarker of loss of consciousness and its recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I. Luppi
- Division of AnaesthesiaUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Daniel Golkowski
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der IsarTechnische Universität MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - Andreas Ranft
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Klinikum rechts der IsarTechnische Universität MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - Rüdiger Ilg
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der IsarTechnische Universität MünchenMünchenGermany
- Department of NeurologyAsklepios ClinicBad TölzGermany
| | - Denis Jordan
- Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Klinikum rechts der IsarTechnische Universität MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - David K. Menon
- Division of AnaesthesiaUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- Wolfon Brain Imaging CentreUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| | - Emmanuel A. Stamatakis
- Division of AnaesthesiaUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
- Department of Clinical NeurosciencesUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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19
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Luppi AI, Carhart-Harris RL, Roseman L, Pappas I, Menon DK, Stamatakis EA. LSD alters dynamic integration and segregation in the human brain. Neuroimage 2021; 227:117653. [PMID: 33338615 PMCID: PMC7896102 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Investigating changes in brain function induced by mind-altering substances such as LSD is a powerful method for interrogating and understanding how mind interfaces with brain, by connecting novel psychological phenomena with their neurobiological correlates. LSD is known to increase measures of brain complexity, potentially reflecting a neurobiological correlate of the especially rich phenomenological content of psychedelic-induced experiences. Yet although the subjective stream of consciousness is a constant ebb and flow, no studies to date have investigated how LSD influences the dynamics of functional connectivity in the human brain. Focusing on the two fundamental network properties of integration and segregation, here we combined graph theory and dynamic functional connectivity from resting-state functional MRI to examine time-resolved effects of LSD on brain networks properties and subjective experiences. Our main finding is that the effects of LSD on brain function and subjective experience are non-uniform in time: LSD makes globally segregated sub-states of dynamic functional connectivity more complex, and weakens the relationship between functional and anatomical connectivity. On a regional level, LSD reduces functional connectivity of the anterior medial prefrontal cortex, specifically during states of high segregation. Time-specific effects were correlated with different aspects of subjective experiences; in particular, ego dissolution was predicted by increased small-world organisation during a state of high global integration. These results reveal a more nuanced, temporally-specific picture of altered brain connectivity and complexity under psychedelics than has previously been reported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom.
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Leor Roseman
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom
| | - Ioannis Pappas
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - David K Menon
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom; Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom
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20
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Kadriu B, Greenwald M, Henter ID, Gilbert JR, Kraus C, Park LT, Zarate CA. Ketamine and Serotonergic Psychedelics: Common Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Rapid-Acting Antidepressants. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 24:8-21. [PMID: 33252694 PMCID: PMC7816692 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyaa087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The glutamatergic modulator ketamine has created a blueprint for studying novel pharmaceuticals in the field. Recent studies suggest that "classic" serotonergic psychedelics (SPs) may also have antidepressant efficacy. Both ketamine and SPs appear to produce rapid, sustained antidepressant effects after a transient psychoactive period. METHODS This review summarizes areas of overlap between SP and ketamine research and considers the possibility of a common, downstream mechanism of action. The therapeutic relevance of the psychoactive state, overlapping cellular and molecular effects, and overlapping electrophysiological and neuroimaging observations are all reviewed. RESULTS Taken together, the evidence suggests a potentially shared mechanism wherein both ketamine and SPs may engender rapid neuroplastic effects in a glutamatergic activity-dependent manner. It is postulated that, though distinct, both ketamine and SPs appear to produce acute alterations in cortical network activity that may initially produce psychoactive effects and later produce milder, sustained changes in network efficiency associated with therapeutic response. However, despite some commonalities between the psychoactive component of these pharmacologically distinct therapies-such as engagement of the downstream glutamatergic pathway-the connection between psychoactive impact and antidepressant efficacy remains unclear and requires more rigorous research. CONCLUSIONS Rapid-acting antidepressants currently under investigation may share some downstream pharmacological effects, suggesting that their antidepressant effects may come about via related mechanisms. Given the prototypic nature of ketamine research and recent progress in this area, this platform could be used to investigate entirely new classes of antidepressants with rapid and robust actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bashkim Kadriu
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Maximillian Greenwald
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ioline D Henter
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jessica R Gilbert
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christoph Kraus
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lawrence T Park
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Carlos A Zarate
- Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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21
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Naze S, Proix T, Atasoy S, Kozloski JR. Robustness of connectome harmonics to local gray matter and long-range white matter connectivity changes. Neuroimage 2021; 224:117364. [PMID: 32947015 PMCID: PMC7779370 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, it has been proposed that the harmonic patterns emerging from the brain's structural connectivity underlie the resting state networks of the human brain. These harmonic patterns, termed connectome harmonics, are estimated as the Laplace eigenfunctions of the combined gray and white matters connectivity matrices and yield a connectome-specific extension of the well-known Fourier basis. However, it remains unclear how topological properties of the combined connectomes constrain the precise shape of the connectome harmonics and their relationships to the resting state networks. Here, we systematically study how alterations of the local and long-range connectivity matrices affect the spatial patterns of connectome harmonics. Specifically, the proportion of local gray matter homogeneous connectivity versus long-range white-matter heterogeneous connectivity is varied by means of weight-based matrix thresholding, distance-based matrix trimming, and several types of matrix randomizations. We demonstrate that the proportion of local gray matter connections plays a crucial role for the emergence of wide-spread, functionally meaningful, and originally published connectome harmonic patterns. This finding is robust for several different cortical surface templates, mesh resolutions, or widths of the local diffusion kernel. Finally, using the connectome harmonic framework, we also provide a proof-of-concept for how targeted structural changes such as the atrophy of inter-hemispheric callosal fibers and gray matter alterations may predict functional deficits associated with neurodegenerative conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Naze
- IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, USA; IBM Research Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Timothée Proix
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Selen Atasoy
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
| | - James R Kozloski
- IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, USA
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22
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Kočárová R, Horáček J, Carhart-Harris R. Does Psychedelic Therapy Have a Transdiagnostic Action and Prophylactic Potential? Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:661233. [PMID: 34349678 PMCID: PMC8327748 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.661233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Addressing global mental health is a major 21st-century challenge. Current treatments have recognized limitations; in this context, new ones that are prophylactic and effective across diagnostic boundaries would represent a major advance. The view that there exists a core of transdiagnostic overlap between psychiatric disorders has re-emerged in recent years, and evidence that psychedelic therapy holds promise for a range of psychiatric disorders supports the position that it may be transdiagnostically effective. Here, we propose that psychedelic therapy's core, transdiagnostically relevant action lies in its ability to increase neuronal and mental plasticity, thus enhancing the potential for change, which we consider to be a key to its therapeutic benefits. Moreover, we suggest that enhanced plasticity via psychedelics, combined with a psychotherapeutic approach, can aid healthy adaptability and resilience, which are protective factors for long-term well-being. We present candidate neurological and psychological markers of this plasticity and link them with a predictive processing model of the action of psychedelics. We propose that a model of psychedelic-induced plasticity combined with an adequate therapeutic context has prophylactic and transdiagnostic potential, implying that it could have a broad, positive impact on public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Kočárová
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia.,Beyond Psychedelics, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jiří Horáček
- Department of Applied Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Robin Carhart-Harris
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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23
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Zilio F, Gomez-Pilar J, Cao S, Zhang J, Zang D, Qi Z, Tan J, Hiromi T, Wu X, Fogel S, Huang Z, Hohmann MR, Fomina T, Synofzik M, Grosse-Wentrup M, Owen AM, Northoff G. Are intrinsic neural timescales related to sensory processing? Evidence from abnormal behavioral states. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117579. [PMID: 33221441 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain exhibits a complex temporal structure which translates into a hierarchy of distinct neural timescales. An open question is how these intrinsic timescales are related to sensory or motor information processing and whether these dynamics have common patterns in different behavioral states. We address these questions by investigating the brain's intrinsic timescales in healthy controls, motor (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, locked-in syndrome), sensory (anesthesia, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome), and progressive reduction of sensory processing (from awake states over N1, N2, N3). We employed a combination of measures from EEG resting-state data: auto-correlation window (ACW), power spectral density (PSD), and power-law exponent (PLE). Prolonged neural timescales accompanied by a shift towards slower frequencies were observed in the conditions with sensory deficits, but not in conditions with motor deficits. Our results establish that the spontaneous activity's intrinsic neural timescale is related to the neural capacity that specifically supports sensory rather than motor information processing in the healthy brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Zilio
- Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
| | - Javier Gomez-Pilar
- Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Valladolid, Spain
| | - Shumei Cao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Di Zang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zengxin Qi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiaxing Tan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tanigawa Hiromi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuehai Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Stuart Fogel
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
| | - Zirui Huang
- Center for Consciousness Science, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Matthias R Hohmann
- Department for Empirical Inference, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tatiana Fomina
- Department for Empirical Inference, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Matthis Synofzik
- Department of Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Moritz Grosse-Wentrup
- Research Group Neuroinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - Adrian M Owen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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24
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Zimmern V. Why Brain Criticality Is Clinically Relevant: A Scoping Review. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 14:54. [PMID: 32982698 PMCID: PMC7479292 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The past 25 years have seen a strong increase in the number of publications related to criticality in different areas of neuroscience. The potential of criticality to explain various brain properties, including optimal information processing, has made it an increasingly exciting area of investigation for neuroscientists. Recent reviews on this topic, sometimes termed brain criticality, make brief mention of clinical applications of these findings to several neurological disorders such as epilepsy, neurodegenerative disease, and neonatal hypoxia. Other clinicallyrelevant domains - including anesthesia, sleep medicine, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, and psychiatry - are seldom discussed in review papers of brain criticality. Thorough assessments of these application areas and their relevance for clinicians have also yet to be published. In this scoping review, studies of brain criticality involving human data of all ages are evaluated for their current and future clinical relevance. To make the results of these studies understandable to a more clinical audience, a review of the key concepts behind criticality (e.g., phase transitions, long-range temporal correlation, self-organized criticality, power laws, branching processes) precedes the discussion of human clinical studies. Open questions and forthcoming areas of investigation are also considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Zimmern
- Division of Child Neurology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
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25
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Decreased directed functional connectivity in the psychedelic state. Neuroimage 2019; 209:116462. [PMID: 31857204 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies of the psychedelic state offer a unique window onto the neural basis of conscious perception and selfhood. Despite well understood pharmacological mechanisms of action, the large-scale changes in neural dynamics induced by psychedelic compounds remain poorly understood. Using source-localised, steady-state MEG recordings, we describe changes in functional connectivity following the controlled administration of LSD, psilocybin and low-dose ketamine, as well as, for comparison, the (non-psychedelic) anticonvulsant drug tiagabine. We compare both undirected and directed measures of functional connectivity between placebo and drug conditions. We observe a general decrease in directed functional connectivity for all three psychedelics, as measured by Granger causality, throughout the brain. These data support the view that the psychedelic state involves a breakdown in patterns of functional organisation or information flow in the brain. In the case of LSD, the decrease in directed functional connectivity is coupled with an increase in undirected functional connectivity, which we measure using correlation and coherence. This surprising opposite movement of directed and undirected measures is of more general interest for functional connectivity analyses, which we interpret using analytical modelling. Overall, our results uncover the neural dynamics of information flow in the psychedelic state, and highlight the importance of comparing multiple measures of functional connectivity when analysing time-resolved neuroimaging data.
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26
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Zarghami TS, Friston KJ. Dynamic effective connectivity. Neuroimage 2019; 207:116453. [PMID: 31821868 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Metastability is a key source of itinerant dynamics in the brain; namely, spontaneous spatiotemporal reorganization of neuronal activity. This itinerancy has been the focus of numerous dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) analyses - developed to characterize the formation and dissolution of distributed functional patterns over time, using resting state fMRI. However, aside from technical and practical controversies, these approaches cannot recover the neuronal mechanisms that underwrite itinerant (e.g., metastable) dynamics-due to their descriptive, model-free nature. We argue that effective connectivity (EC) analyses are more apt for investigating the neuronal basis of metastability. To this end, we appeal to biologically-grounded models (i.e., dynamic causal modelling, DCM) and dynamical systems theory (i.e., heteroclinic sequential dynamics) to create a probabilistic, generative model of haemodynamic fluctuations. This model generates trajectories in the parametric space of EC modes (i.e., states of connectivity) that characterize functional brain architectures. In brief, it extends an established spectral DCM, to generate functional connectivity data features that change over time. This foundational paper tries to establish the model's face validity by simulating non-stationary fMRI time series and recovering key model parameters (i.e., transition probabilities among connectivity states and the parametric nature of these states) using variational Bayes. These data are further characterized using Bayesian model comparison (within and between subjects). Finally, we consider practical issues that attend applications and extensions of this scheme. Importantly, the scheme operates within a generic Bayesian framework - that can be adapted to study metastability and itinerant dynamics in any non-stationary time series.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahereh S Zarghami
- Bio-Electric Department, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Amirabad, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Karl J Friston
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
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27
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Tokariev A, Roberts JA, Zalesky A, Zhao X, Vanhatalo S, Breakspear M, Cocchi L. Large-scale brain modes reorganize between infant sleep states and carry prognostic information for preterms. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2619. [PMID: 31197175 PMCID: PMC6565810 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10467-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 05/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep architecture carries vital information about brain health across the lifespan. In particular, the ability to express distinct vigilance states is a key physiological marker of neurological wellbeing in the newborn infant although systems-level mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the transition from quiet to active sleep in newborn infants is marked by a substantial reorganization of large-scale cortical activity and functional brain networks. This reorganization is attenuated in preterm infants and predicts visual performance at two years. We find a striking match between these empirical effects and a computational model of large-scale brain states which uncovers fundamental biophysical mechanisms not evident from inspection of the data. Active sleep is defined by reduced energy in a uniform mode of neural activity and increased energy in two more complex anteroposterior modes. Preterm-born infants show a deficit in this sleep-related reorganization of modal energy that carries novel prognostic information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Tokariev
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. .,Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland. .,BABA center, Pediatric Research Center, Clinical Neurophysiology, Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00029, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - James A Roberts
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia
| | - Andrew Zalesky
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3053, Australia.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Xuelong Zhao
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Sampsa Vanhatalo
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.,BABA center, Pediatric Research Center, Clinical Neurophysiology, Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, 00029, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michael Breakspear
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.,Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, 2305, Australia
| | - Luca Cocchi
- QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. .,School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.
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28
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Lord LD, Expert P, Atasoy S, Roseman L, Rapuano K, Lambiotte R, Nutt DJ, Deco G, Carhart-Harris RL, Kringelbach ML, Cabral J. Dynamical exploration of the repertoire of brain networks at rest is modulated by psilocybin. Neuroimage 2019; 199:127-142. [PMID: 31132450 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence from the dynamical analysis of functional neuroimaging data suggests that brain function can be understood as the exploration of a repertoire of metastable connectivity patterns ('functional brain networks'), which potentially underlie different mental processes. The present study characterizes how the brain's dynamical exploration of resting-state networks is rapidly modulated by intravenous infusion of psilocybin, a tryptamine psychedelic found in "magic mushrooms". We employed a data-driven approach to characterize recurrent functional connectivity patterns by focusing on the leading eigenvector of BOLD phase coherence at single-TR resolution. Recurrent BOLD phase-locking patterns (PL states) were assessed and statistically compared pre- and post-infusion of psilocybin in terms of their probability of occurrence and transition profiles. Results were validated using a placebo session. Recurrent BOLD PL states revealed high spatial overlap with canonical resting-state networks. Notably, a PL state forming a frontoparietal subsystem was strongly destabilized after psilocybin injection, with a concomitant increase in the probability of occurrence of another PL state characterized by global BOLD phase coherence. These findings provide evidence of network-specific neuromodulation by psilocybin and represent one of the first attempts at bridging molecular pharmacodynamics and whole-brain network dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Expert
- Centre for Mathematics of Precision Healthcare, Imperial College London, UK; Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Selen Atasoy
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Leor Roseman
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | | | | | - David J Nutt
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain; Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK; Centre for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Institut d'Études Avancées de Paris, France; Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Portugal
| | - Joana Cabral
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK; Centre for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Portugal.
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29
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