{
  "abstract": "Background: Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic that provides a pharmacological tool for examining neural activity associated with altered states of consciousness. Existing studies report reduced power (4-30 Hz) in posterior regions and altered functional connectivity (FC) at rest, but have typically involved small samples and coarse anatomical parcellations. Additionally, perceptual engagement has been shown to attenuate psilocybin-related whole-brain FC changes. However, how naturalistic context modifies psilocybin's frequency-specific electrophysiological effects remains incompletely characterised. Methods: We analysed the largest psilocybin electroencephalography (EEG) dataset to date (n = 56), with matched baseline recordings acquired before psilocybin administration. EEG was recorded during movie viewing, eyes-closed rest, guided meditation, and music listening. Cortical source activity was estimated using minimum-norm estimation and analysed across six canonical frequency bands (1-80 Hz). Spectral power, alpha peak frequency (APF), and magnitude-squared coherence within and between seven functional networks were quantified. Psilocybin effects were assessed using permutation testing with FDR correction, and linear mixed-effects models separated the contributions of drug, context, and their interaction to alpha-band connectivity. Results: At rest, psilocybin decreased alpha (8-13 Hz) power, increased gamma-range power, and elevated APF. Alpha-band FC decreased within and between higher-order networks implicated in top-down control. Relative to eyes-closed rest, psilocybin-context interactions showed that structured sensory environments attenuated or reversed psilocybin-related alpha-band connectivity changes. Conclusions: These findings identify alpha-band activity as a key electrophysiological correlate of psilocybin-related changes in cortical communication. Structured sensory input reshapes psilocybin-related cortical dynamics, particularly alpha-band connectivity across large-scale cortical networks, with the strength and direction of this modulation differing by context.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Monash University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "V. Dhanawansa"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Stoliker"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Novelli"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Biabani"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Razi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "L. Kuhlmann"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5yj1qdrt2etsd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.06.757155",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757155v1.full",
  "id": "5yj1qdrt2etsd",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757155v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|Psychedelics and Drug Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222397434",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757155v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5yj1qdrt2etsd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:03Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.06.757155",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757155v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Context Shapes Alpha-Band Electrophysiological Signatures Under Psilocybin",
  "title_text": "Context Shapes Alpha-Band Electrophysiological Signatures Under Psilocybin",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:03Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5yj1qdrt2etsd",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}