Long-term use of psychedelic drugs is associated with differences in brain structure and personality in humans. Bouso, J., C., Palhano-Fontes, F., Rodríguez-Fornells, A., Ribeiro, S., Sanches, R., F., Crippa, J., A., S., Hallak, J., E., C., de Araujo, D., B., & Riba, J. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 25(4):483-492, 2015.
Long-term use of psychedelic drugs is associated with differences in brain structure and personality in humans [link]Website  abstract   bibtex   
Psychedelic agents have a long history of use by humans for their capacity to induce profound modifications in perception, emotion and cognitive processes. Despite increasing knowledge of the neural mechanisms involved in the acute effects of these drugs, the impact of sustained psychedelic use on the human brain remains largely unknown. Molecular pharmacology studies have shown that psychedelic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)2Aagonists stimulate neurotrophic and transcription factors associated with synaptic plasticity. These data suggest that psychedelics could potentially induce structural changes in brain tissue. Here we looked for differences in cortical thickness (CT) in regular users of psychedelics. We obtained magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the brains of 22 regular users of ayahuasca (a preparation whose active principle is the psychedelic 5HT2Aagonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT)) and 22 controls matched for age, sex, years of education, verbal IQ and fluid IQ. Ayahuasca users showed significant CT differences in midline structures of the brain, with thinning in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a key node of the default mode network. CT values in the PCC were inversely correlated with the intensity and duration of prior use of ayahuasca and with scores on self-transcendence, a personality trait measuring religiousness, transpersonal feelings and spirituality. Although direct causation cannot be established, these data suggest that regular use of psychedelic drugs could potentially lead to structural changes in brain areas supporting attentional processes, self-referential thought, and internal mentation. These changes could underlie the previously reported personality changes in long-term users and highlight the involvement of the PCC in the effects of psychedelics.
@article{
 title = {Long-term use of psychedelic drugs is associated with differences in brain structure and personality in humans},
 type = {article},
 year = {2015},
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 keywords = {Ayahuasca,Cortical thickness,N,N-dimethyltryptamine,Personality,Psychedelics},
 pages = {483-492},
 volume = {25},
 websites = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X15000097},
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 abstract = {Psychedelic agents have a long history of use by humans for their capacity to induce profound modifications in perception, emotion and cognitive processes. Despite increasing knowledge of the neural mechanisms involved in the acute effects of these drugs, the impact of sustained psychedelic use on the human brain remains largely unknown. Molecular pharmacology studies have shown that psychedelic 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)2Aagonists stimulate neurotrophic and transcription factors associated with synaptic plasticity. These data suggest that psychedelics could potentially induce structural changes in brain tissue. Here we looked for differences in cortical thickness (CT) in regular users of psychedelics. We obtained magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the brains of 22 regular users of ayahuasca (a preparation whose active principle is the psychedelic 5HT2Aagonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT)) and 22 controls matched for age, sex, years of education, verbal IQ and fluid IQ. Ayahuasca users showed significant CT differences in midline structures of the brain, with thinning in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a key node of the default mode network. CT values in the PCC were inversely correlated with the intensity and duration of prior use of ayahuasca and with scores on self-transcendence, a personality trait measuring religiousness, transpersonal feelings and spirituality. Although direct causation cannot be established, these data suggest that regular use of psychedelic drugs could potentially lead to structural changes in brain areas supporting attentional processes, self-referential thought, and internal mentation. These changes could underlie the previously reported personality changes in long-term users and highlight the involvement of the PCC in the effects of psychedelics.},
 bibtype = {article},
 author = {Bouso, José Carlos and Palhano-Fontes, Fernanda and Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni and Ribeiro, Sidarta and Sanches, Rafael Faria and Crippa, José Alexandre S. and Hallak, Jaime Eduardo Cecilio and de Araujo, Draulio Barros and Riba, Jordi},
 journal = {European Neuropsychopharmacology},
 number = {4}
}

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