Acute effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on resting brain function.

Acute effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on resting brain function. Swiss Med Wkly. 2019 Sep 23;149:w20124 Authors: Müller F, Borgwardt S Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent hallucinogenic substance that was extensively investigated by psychiatrists during the 1950s and 1960s. Researchers were interested in the unique effects induced by this substance, some of which resemble symptoms seen in schizophrenia. Moreover, during that period LSD was studied and used for the treatment of several mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction and personality disorders. Despite this long history of research, how LSD induces its specific effects on a neuronal level has been relatively unclear. In recent years there has been a revival of research in hallucinogenic drugs and their possible clinical applications. These contemporary studies in the UK and Switzerland include neuroimaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this review, we collect and interpret these recent neuroimaging findings. Overall, previous results across studies indicate that LSD administration is associated with extensive alterations in functional brain connectivity, measuring the correlated activities between different brain regions. The studies mostly reported increases in connectivity between regions and, more specifically, consistently found increased connectivity within the thalamocortical system. These lat...
Source: Swiss Medical Weekly - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Swiss Med Wkly Source Type: research