Serotonergic psychedelics delay resting state neurovascular coupling dynamics
- 1Universidad Adolfo Ibanez
Abstract
Psychedelics are increasingly explored as tools to investigate consciousness and cognition, and as potential treatments for mood disorders. While neuroimaging has been central to characterizing their mechanisms of action, the interpretation of these studies may be confounded by the neurovascular effects elicited by these drugs. Here, we investigated the modulation of resting state neurovascular coupling by the serotonergic psychedelics LSD and DMT. Applying a blind deconvolution algorithm to blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals, we found that both drugs increased the estimated hemodynamic delays in regions overlapping with the distribution of serotonin receptors implicated in psychedelic action and vascular regulation. Deconvolution enhanced the detection of psychedelic-induced changes in whole-brain functional connectivity, suggesting that vascular effects obscure connectivity changes instead of generating spurious results. Finally, a biophysical whole-brain model linked these effects to increased flow-dependent feedback and slower dissipation of the vasoactive drive. These findings underscore the need to account for vascular effects in future psychedelic neuroimaging studies.
Related
- Applications of functional ultrasound brain-computer interfaces in neurological diseases: research progress based on neurovascular coupling
- Cortex-wide neuronal dynamics underpin quasi-periodic patterns in resting-state fMRI
- Loneliness is reflected in the sub-second temporal dynamics of the resting brain: an EEG microstate study
- Altered attention network dynamics in resting-state fMRI of individuals with high smartphone addiction scores
- Evaluating State-Transition Models in Short Resting-State fMRI with Continuous-Dynamics Controls
BibTeX
@misc{mundel2026serotonergic,
title = {{Serotonergic psychedelics delay resting state neurovascular coupling dynamics}},
author = {L. Mundel and V. Medel and C. Timmermann and P. Orio and J. Cruzat and C. Pallavicini and G. Deco and A. Ibanez and R. Carhart-Harris and Y. Sanz Perl and E. Tagliazucchi and E. Tagliazucchi},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.09.758082},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.758082v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Serotonergic psychedelics delay resting state neurovascular coupling dynamics
AU - L. Mundel
AU - V. Medel
AU - C. Timmermann
AU - P. Orio
AU - J. Cruzat
AU - C. Pallavicini
AU - G. Deco
AU - A. Ibanez
AU - R. Carhart-Harris
AU - Y. Sanz Perl
AU - E. Tagliazucchi
AU - E. Tagliazucchi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.09.758082
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.758082v1
AB - Psychedelics are increasingly explored as tools to investigate consciousness and cognition, and as potential treatments for mood disorders. While neuroimaging has been central to characterizing their mechanisms of action, the interpretation of these studies may be confounded by the neurovascular effects elicited by these drugs. Here, we investigated the modulation of resting state neurovascular coupling by the serotonergic psychedelics LSD and DMT. Applying a blind deconvolution algorithm to blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals, we found that both drugs increased the estimated hemodynamic delays in regions overlapping with the distribution of serotonin receptors implicated in psychedelic action and vascular regulation. Deconvolution enhanced the detection of psychedelic-induced changes in whole-brain functional connectivity, suggesting that vascular effects obscure connectivity changes instead of generating spurious results. Finally, a biophysical whole-brain model linked these effects to increased flow-dependent feedback and slower dissipation of the vasoactive drive. These findings underscore the need to account for vascular effects in future psychedelic neuroimaging studies.
ER -