Precision imaging of neural responses to LSD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using high-resolution precision neuroimaging to investigate the effects of LSD on brain activity in healthy, hallucinogen-experienced volunteers
IRAS ID
318411
Contact name
Bashir Al-Hashimi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study will use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate – in more detail than ever before – the effects of the psychedelic compound lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on brain activity and connectivity. LSD has been shown to significantly improve outcomes for patients with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance addictions – especially those for whom traditional psychiatric drugs are ineffective. LSD also evokes profound changes in consciousness and is often associated with deeply meaningful experiences that prompt lasting changes in perspective.
These experiences tend to be individualised and personal, varying significantly between users, so it is of particular interest here to adopt a ‘precision medicine’ approach, in which the intertwining influences within subjects are thoroughly characterised (in contrast to between group analyses, which usually do not afford the same level of nuance). We therefore intend to leverage recent developments in precision neuroimaging to map the individualised neural response under LSD, to an unprecedented degree of granularity. Discovering how LSD changes brain activity to produce such states will significantly inform the neurobiology of consciousness and will improve our understanding of how LSD helps patients with the mental disorders listed above – as well as giving us insights into how it may be applied to treat patients with other major mental illnesses.
The study will be performed at neuroimaging research centres at University College London and King's College London. Participants will undergo fMRI and cognitive testing as well as collection of blood samples, with and without the psychedelic compound LSD. Data collection for the study will last approximately 10 months, and is being funded by the charity the Beckley Foundation.
REC name
Wales REC 1
REC reference
24/WA/0230
Date of REC Opinion
13 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion