The Beckley Foundation, Oxford, UK.
Division of Psychiatry, Department of Brain Sciences, Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, London, UK.
J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Oct;38(10):887-896. doi: 10.1177/02698811241276788. Epub 2024 Sep 20.
Non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelics can be accompanied by so-called "peak experiences," characterized at the emotional level by their intensity and positive valence. These experiences are strong predictors of positive outcomes following psychedelic-assisted therapy, and it is therefore important to better understand their biology. Despite growing evidence that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays an important role in mediating emotional experiences, its involvement in the psychedelic experience is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent changes in the relative influence of the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous systems (PNS) over cardiac activity may reflect the subjective experience induced by the short-acting psychedelic N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT).
We derived measures of SNS and PNS activity from the electrocardiograms of 17 participants (11 males, mean age = 33.8 years, SD = 8.3) while they received either DMT or placebo.
Results show that the joint influence of SNS and PNS ("sympathovagal coactivation") over cardiac activity was positively related to participants' ratings of "Spiritual Experience" and "Insightfulness" during the DMT experience, while also being related to improved well-being scores 2 weeks after the session. In addition, we found that the state of balance between the two ANS branches ("sympathovagal balance") before DMT injection predicted scores of "Insightfulness" during the DMT experience, as well as subsequent sympathovagal coactivation.
These findings demonstrate the involvement of the ANS in psychedelic-induced peak experiences and may pave the way to the development of biofeedback-based tools to enhance psychedelic therapy.
迷幻剂诱导的非寻常意识状态可能伴随着所谓的“高峰体验”，其在情绪层面上的特点是强度和积极的效价。这些体验是迷幻辅助治疗后积极结果的强有力预测因素，因此了解其生物学机制非常重要。尽管越来越多的证据表明自主神经系统（ANS）在调节情绪体验方面起着重要作用，但它在迷幻体验中的作用仍知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨交感神经系统（SNS）和副交感神经系统（PNS）对心脏活动的相对影响变化在多大程度上反映了短时间作用的迷幻剂 N，N-二甲基色胺（DMT）诱导的主观体验。
我们从 17 名参与者（11 名男性，平均年龄=33.8 岁，SD=8.3）的心电图中得出了 SNS 和 PNS 活动的指标，这些参与者在接受 DMT 或安慰剂时。
结果表明，SNS 和 PNS 的共同影响（“交感神经和副交感神经协同激活”）对心脏活动的影响与参与者在 DMT 体验期间对“精神体验”和“洞察力”的评分呈正相关，同时也与治疗后 2 周的幸福感评分提高有关。此外，我们发现，DMT 注射前两种 ANS 分支之间的平衡状态（“交感神经和副交感神经平衡”）预测了 DMT 体验期间的“洞察力”评分，以及随后的交感神经和副交感神经协同激活。
这些发现表明，ANS 参与了迷幻剂诱导的高峰体验，并可能为开发基于生物反馈的工具以增强迷幻剂治疗铺平道路。
