Journal Article

Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects

Kometer, Michael, Scheidegger, Milan, Smigielski, Lukasz, Vollenweider, Franz X.

2019

Overview

Both psychedelics and meditation exert profound modulatory effects on consciousness, perception and cognition, but their combined, possibly synergistic effects on neurobiology are unknown. Accordingly, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 38 participants following a single administration of the psychedelic psilocybin (315 μg/kg p.o.) during a 5-day mindfulness retreat. Brain dynamics were quantified directly pre- and post-intervention by functional magnetic resonance imaging during the resting state and two meditation forms. The analysis of functional connectivity identified psilocybin-related and mental state–dependent alterations in self-referential processing regions of the default mode network (DMN). Notably, decoupling of medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, which is thought to mediate sense of self, was associated with the subjective ego dissolution effect during the psilocybin-assisted mindfulness session. The extent of ego dissolution and brain connectivity predicted positive changes in psycho-social functioning of participants 4 months later. Psilocybin, combined with meditation, facilitated neurodynamic modulations in self-referential networks, subserving the process of meditation by acting along the anterior–posterior DMN connection. The study highlights the link between altered self-experience and subsequent behavioral changes. Understanding how interventions facilitate transformative experiences may open novel therapeutic perspectives. Insights into the biology of discrete mental states foster our understanding of non-ordinary forms of human self-consciousness and their concomitant brain substrate. •Study investigates the psychedelic effects of psilocybin within a mindfulness retreat.•Drug-specific modulations in self-referential brain areas were found post-intervention.•Reduced antero-posterior DMN connectivity was linked to drug-induced ego dissolution.•Extent of altered self-experience and connectivity predicted lasting positive changes.

• Publisher: Elsevier Inc,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Behavior / Brain - drug effects / Brain - physiology / Brain Mapping / Brain research / Cognition / Consciousness / Consciousness - drug effects / Consciousness - physiology / Default mode network / Dissolution / Double-Blind Method / Double-blind studies / Drug dosages / Female / fMRI / Functional magnetic resonance imaging / Humans / Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Male / Meditation / Middle Aged / Mindfulness / Nervous system / Neural networks / Neural Pathways - drug effects / Neural Pathways - physiology / Neuroimaging / Psilocybin / Psilocybin - administration & dosage / Psychedelic / Psychedelic drugs / Self Concept