Decreased mental time travel to the past correlates with default-mode network disintegration under lysergic acid diethylamide

Jana Speth (Lead / Corresponding author), Clemens Speth, Mendel Kaelen, Astrid M. Schloerscheidt, Amanda Feilding, David J. Nutt, Robin L. Carhart-Harris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

This paper reports on the effects of LSD on mental time travel during spontaneous mentation. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in a placebo-controlled crossover study, incorporating intravenous administration of LSD (75 μg) and placebo (saline) prior to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Six independent, blind judges analysed mentation reports acquired during structured interviews performed shortly after the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans (approximately 2.5 h post-administration). Within each report, specific linguistic references to mental spaces for the past, present and future were identified. Results revealed significantly fewer mental spaces for the past under LSD and this effect correlated with the general intensity of the drug's subjective effects. No differences in the number of mental spaces for the present or future were observed. Consistent with the previously proposed role of the default-mode network (DMN) in autobiographical memory recollection and ruminative thought, decreased resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) within the DMN correlated with decreased mental time travel to the past. These results are discussed in relation to potential therapeutic applications of LSD and related psychedelics, e.g. in the treatment of depression, for which excessive reflection on one's past, likely mediated by DMN functioning, is symptomatic.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)344-353
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Volume30
Issue number4
Early online date15 Mar 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2016

Keywords

  • Altered states of consciousness
  • default-mode network
  • episodic past memory
  • lysergic acid diethylamide
  • mental time travel
  • mentation reports
  • psychedelics
  • self

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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