Changes in functional connectivity after treatment with psilocybin in people with treatment resistant depression
Abstract
Background Major depression is a debilitating illness, with many patients failing to respond to conventional antidepressant treatments. Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, combined with psychological support, is considered one of the most promising novel treatments for treatment-resistant major depression (TRD) (Carhart-Harris et al., 2021; Carhart-Harris et al., 2018; Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Davis et al., 2021). Emerging neuroimaging techniques employ functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess functional connectivity (FC) of large-scale resting state networks. This has led to the investigation of mechanisms of psychedelic effects and provided initial insights into acute, post-acute and treatment-related changes associated with classical psychedelics. While the few previous analyses of post-acute neurobiological effects of psilocybin of patients with (treatment resistant) major depression have been limited by the lack of a placebo arm, small sample sizes and other methodological biases (Muttoni et al., 2019), they suggest that therapeutic mechanisms related to classical psychedelics in a supportive setting may be reflected in changes in FC of large-scale networks like the Default Mode or Salience Network (DMN and SN, respectively) (Carhart-Harris et al., 2017; Doss et al., 2021; McCulloch et al., 2022). In the current study, our aim is to assess these potential changes in FC in large-scale networks longitudinally from baseline to one and six weeks after dosing sessions with a potentially therapeutic dose of psilocybin compared to a comparison dose of psilocybin or an active placebo in a randomized controlled clinical trial [clinical trial ID: NCT04670081]. Expanding the knowledge in this domain can be conducive to comprehending the antidepressant effects of psychedelics in greater depth. Contributors Christian Schmitz, Hana Adolphi, Lea J. Mertens, Gerhard Gründer License No license Tags Medicine and Health Sciences: Psychiatry and Psychology: Mental Disorders Medicine and Health Sciences: Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques Medicine and Health Sciences: Medical Sciences: Medical Neurobiology Medicine and Health Sciences: Medical Sciences: Medical Pharmacology
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