Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Psilocybin increases brain network integration in patients with depression

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, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

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

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing