Frontiers in pharmacology

Using flashing light to study and test how psilocybin affects the brain

Updated

Abstract

Psilocybin may create a state that allows visual stimulation to modulate perception.

  • Stroboscopic light stimulation (SLS) and psilocybin both lead to changes in brain activity in the alpha band and visual imagery.
  • Psilocybin appears to suppress alpha-band power through pharmacological means, while SLS engages it through visual stimulation.
  • The proposed framework suggests that psilocybin relaxes high-level cortical expectations, enabling external visual rhythms to influence experiences.
  • An increase in the Visionary Restructuralization dimension of the Altered States of Consciousness questionnaire is predicted when rhythmic SLS is applied during psilocybin's effects.
  • The study's design includes testing interactions between drug effects and rhythmicity in a factorial approach, focusing on the precision of experiential outcomes.

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