Abstract
Rationale
Disruption of auditory event-related evoked potentials (ERPs) P300 and mismatch negativity (MMN), electrophysiological markers of attentive and pre-attentive cognitive processing, is repeatedly described in psychosis and schizophrenia. Similar findings were observed in a glutamatergic model of psychosis, but the role of serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors in information processing is less clear.
Objectives
We studied ERPs in a serotonergic model of psychosis, induced by psilocybin, a psychedelic with 5-HT2A/C agonistic properties, in healthy volunteers.
Methods
Twenty subjects (10M/10F) were given 0.26 mg/kg of psilocybin orally in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over design. ERPs (P300, MMN) were registered during the peak of intoxication. Correlations between measured electrophysiological variables and psilocin serum levels and neuropsychological effects were also analyzed.
Results
Psilocybin induced robust psychedelic effects and psychotic-like symptoms, decreased P300 amplitude (p = 0.009) but did not affect the MMN. Psilocybin’s disruptive effect on P300 correlated with the intensity of the psychedelic state, which was dependent on the psilocin serum levels. We also observed a decrease in N100 amplitude (p = 0.039) in the P300 paradigm and a negative correlation between P300 and MMN amplitude (p = 0.014).
Conclusions
Even though pre-attentive cognition (MMN) was not affected, processing at the early perceptual level (N100) and in higher-order cognition (P300) was significantly disrupted by psilocybin. Our results have implications for the role of 5-HT2A receptors in altered information processing in psychosis and schizophrenia.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank to Craig Hampson, BSc (Hons) for helpful comments and language correction. This work was supported by projects MICR VI20172020056, MHCR—DRO (NIMH-CZ, 00023752), NV15-33250A and by projects 260388/SVV/2017, PROGRES Q35 and LO1611 with a financial support from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic under the NPU I program.
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Bravermanová, A., Viktorinová, M., Tylš, F. et al. Psilocybin disrupts sensory and higher order cognitive processing but not pre-attentive cognitive processing—study on P300 and mismatch negativity in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology 235, 491–503 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4807-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4807-2