The Effects of Serotonergic Psychedelics on Neural Activity: A Meta-Analysis of Task-Based Functional Neuroimaging Studies

Introduction Curiosity toward the effects of psychedelic drugs on neural activation has increased due to their potential therapeutic benefits, particularly serotonergic psychedelics that act as 5-HT2A receptor agonists such LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA. However, pattern activity in various brain regions both clinical healthy populations is still not well understood, primary studies addressing this issue have sometimes generated inconsistent results. Objectives The present meta-analysis aims advance our understanding most widely used – MDMA by examining functional throughout whole among participants. Methods We conducted applying multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) with ensemble thresholding quantitatively combine existing magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) examined whole-brain or participants who were administered a psychedelic. Results Serotonergic psychedelics, including MDMA, exhibited significant (α=0.05) several cerebral cortex basal ganglia, may be common across unique within each drug. Conclusions These observed neuroanatomy associated administration inform future adverse effects, emerging applications for treatment psychiatric disorders. Disclosure Interest None Declared