Psilocybin reshapes brain dynamics to mirror context and cue lasting change

In a large, single-site study, 62 participants underwent fMRI and EEG during rest and naturalistic contexts (meditation, music, movie) before and after psilocybin. The drug reorganizes brain activity into context-aligned, low-dimensional trajectories, increasing global integration in associative regions and decreasing it in sensory areas during eyes-closed states, with eyes-open movie boosting overall synchrony. Machine-learning embeddings reveal a context-dependent state—embeddedness—that correlates with the depth of subjective self-/boundary-dissolution and with next-day mindset change; music amplified effects, while mindfulness training did not alter acute network measures. The work links latent neural order to subjective experience and therapeutic potential by showing how context shapes psychedelic brain dynamics.
- Psychedelics align brain activity with context Nature
- How psilocybin alters consciousness to create a sense of ‘oneness’ Scientific American
- Landmark study upends how we think the brain responds to psychedelics newatlas.com
- World's largest psilocybin brain-imaging study maps how context reshapes psychedelic effects Medical Xpress
- What a Blissful Psychedelic Trip Looks Like Inside the Brain Nautilus | Science
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