LSD reconfigures the frequency-specific network landscape of the human brain
bioRxiv – March 21, 2025
Source: medRxiv/bioRxiv/arXiv
Summary
LSD significantly transforms how our brain networks communicate, enhancing high-frequency activity while diminishing lower frequencies. In a study with 14 participants, researchers found that LSD shifts brain activity patterns, particularly in visual and motor areas, revealing its unique impact on consciousness and connectivity.
Abstract
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other psychedelic substances profoundly alter human consciousness. While several studies have demonstrated changes in brain function and connectivity associated with psychedelics, we still have a limited understanding of how LSD reshapes brain networks operating across different frequency bands. In this study, we applied the recently developed FREQ-NESS method to MEG data from 14 healthy participants who received LSD under four conditions: eyes-closed with or without music and eyes-open with or without a video stimulus. LSD significantly restructures canonical networks in the alpha and beta bands. Relative to broadband brain activity, it enhances the prominence of high alpha (12.1, 13.3 Hz) across all experimental conditions and high beta (25.3 Hz) in three conditions. Conversely, LSD decreases the prominence of low beta (18.1, 19.3 Hz) in both Open and Closed conditions and low alpha (8.5 Hz) in the latter. In addition, LSD substantially alters the spatial distributions or topographies of the networks. Under LSD, the low alpha (8.5 Hz) network shifts anteriorly toward the motor cortex, while high alpha (12.1, 13.3 Hz) becomes more localized to the visual cortex. Low beta (18.1, 19.3 Hz) expands over the temporal and occipital cortices, whereas high beta (25.3, 26.5 Hz) topographies remain unchanged. Our findings provide critical insights into the specific frequencies and spatial networks in which LSD modulates brain connectivity, adding nuance to prevailing theories about network disintegration under psychedelics.