Science Visualizes LSD’s Effects on Brain for the First Time

by Faye Sakellaridis

For the first time, scientists have produced visual imagery of LSD’s effects on the human brain. The study, led by a research team at Imperial College London, shows that LSD unifies the functioning of brain networks that are normally separate, such as vision, movement and hearing.

Robin Cahart-Harris, who led the study, says that “the brain in the LSD state resembles the state our brains were in when we were infants: free and unconstrained.”

via Reuters:

“In many ways, the brain in the LSD state resembles the state our brains were in when we were infants: free and unconstrained,” said Robin Cahart-Harris, who led the study. “This also makes sense when we consider the hyper-emotional and imaginative nature of an infant’s mind.”

The findings, published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, also showed that when the volunteers took LSD, many extra brain areas – not just the visual cortex – contributed to visual processing.

This could explain the complex visual hallucinations that are often associated with the LSD state, the scientists said.

Carhart-Harris, a researcher at Imperial’s department of medicine said the experience also seemed to be linked to “improvements in well-being” after the drug’s effects subside, suggesting the findings may one day lead to psychedelic compounds being used to treat psychiatric disorders.

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