The findings, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, are based on brain imaging research comparing people who had used psychedelics at least 10 times in their lives with individuals who had never used such substances.

Researchers from the university’s Brain Research Centre found that users of psychedelics responded faster and more accurately when identifying anger in facial expressions, a result they say may indicate more effective processing of threat signals.

“It turned out that users of psychedelics were faster and more accurate in recognizing anger in other people's faces. This effect was specific to this emotion, and no similar differences were observed for fear or joy. This may indicate that users of psychedelics process threat signals more effectively. Interestingly, this was not due to impulsivity. Typically, faster, impulsive reactions are associated with more errors, but in this case, the opposite was true: the reactions were both faster and more accurate”, said Michał Bola, who led the study.

Nearly 70 participants took part in the research. During the experiment, they viewed photographs of facial expressions and identified emotions including anger, fear, joy and neutral expressions while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI.

Participants had not used psychedelic substances for at least 30 days before the study, allowing researchers to examine longer-term differences in emotional processing rather than immediate effects of the drugs.

The brain scans showed that users of psychedelics had weaker responses to negative emotions, especially anger, in parts of the limbic system associated with emotion processing, memory and motivation. Researchers said this could indicate reduced sensitivity to stress or anxiety-provoking stimuli.

At the same time, psychedelic users showed stronger activity in areas of the parietal and sensorimotor cortex when viewing joyful faces, suggesting greater sensitivity to positive emotions.

“Our study is pioneering in the field of neuroimaging of users of psychedelics, but fully understanding the effects of these substances on the brain will require many years of work”, Bola said.

According to Paweł Orłowski, the study also identified differences in the so-called default mode network, a system of brain structures linked to self-reflection and internal thought processes.

“This system of structures is active when we are not focused on a specific task. It is responsible for self-reflection, memories, and internal dialogue, among other things. Excessive activity of this network is associated with rumination, persistent reliving of negative thoughts, characteristic of depression. In individuals who use psychedelics, less variation in the responses of key areas of this network to different categories of emotions has been observed. This specific response profile flattening may constitute the biological basis for greater emotional flexibility, which corresponds to the results of laboratory studies indicating the therapeutic effectiveness of psychedelics in the treatment of affective disorders”, he said.

The researchers noted that psychedelic substances including psilocybin, LSD and DMT are increasingly being studied for potential therapeutic applications in depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bola stressed, however, that clinical use differs significantly from recreational use.

“However, it is important to remember that the therapeutic process always includes preparatory sessions and so-called experience integration, and the actual administration of psychedelics takes place under the supervision of qualified therapists. Self-administering of these substances lacks this structure, which significantly increases the risk; it is still unclear whether it brings similar therapeutic benefits”, he said.

The researchers also cautioned that the study was correlational and does not prove that psychedelic use caused the observed brain differences. They said it remains possible that people with certain emotional characteristics are more likely to use psychedelics.

Ewelina Krajczyńska-Wujec (PAP)

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