Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psilocybin increases brain network integration in patients with depression

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

From Nature Medicine

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Clinical trial results show that psilocybin, a potent psychedelic, has antidepressant effects in patients with depression and is more effective than escitalopram. Functional MRI experiments revealed a decrease in brain modularity after psilocybin therapy, indicative of an increase in the global integration of the brain’s functional networks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Psilocybin’s antidepressant effect relates to increases in the global integration of brain functional networks.

References

  1. Beck, A. T. & Clark, D. A. Anxiety and depression: an information processing perspective. Anxiety 1, 23–26 (1988). A review article that presents Aaron Beck’s cognitive theory of depression.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Carhart-Harris, R. L. & Nutt, D. J. Serotonin and brain function: a tale of two receptors. J. Psychopharmacol. 31, 1091–1120 (2017). A review article of serotonin’s role in brain function and the action of conventional antidepressants.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Carhart-Harris, R. L. et al. Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. Lancet Psychiatry 3, 619–627 (2016). A paper reporting that psilocybin alleviates depression in treatment-resistant patients.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Roseman, L. et al. The effects of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 8, 204 (2014). A paper that presents evidence of increased fMRI between-network integration during acute psilocybin treatment.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Hamilton, J. P. et al. Default-mode and task-positive network activity in major depressive disorder: implications for adaptive and maladaptive rumination. Biol. Psychiatry 70, 327–333 (2011). A paper that presents abnormal fMRI brain function in depression.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Daws, R. E. et al. Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01744-z (2022).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Psilocybin increases brain network integration in patients with depression. Nat Med 28, 647–648 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01769-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01769-4

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

Search

Navigation