Dissociable effects of LSD and MDMA on striato-cortical connectivity in healthy subjects
bioRxiv – February 07, 2025
Source: medRxiv/bioRxiv/arXiv
Summary
LSD and MDMA, popular psychoactive substances, may hold promise for treating mental health issues. This study explored how they affect connectivity in brain regions linked to reward and motivation. By examining healthy subjects, researchers found distinct effects on striatal connectivity, highlighting their unique potential in psychiatric therapies.
Abstract
Introduction Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) are widely used psychoactive drugs and their potential use in psychiatric medicine is currently generating interest. The mechanism by which these drugs may assist recovery in addiction, mood disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is still not well understood. Most investigations of the effects of these drugs on brain activity have focussed on cortical resting-state networks, however the striatum is a key reward and motivation hub of the brain and aberrant striatal processing may be part of the pathophysiology of these disorders. Consequently, we investigated striatal connectivity following acute MDMA and LSD administration.