The Effects of Psilocybin on Shared Experience in Film Processing

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether certain methods of detecting awareness in vegetative or minimally conscious patients (using neuroimaging) are sensitive to the effects of psilocybin (a psychedelic drug). One of these methods includes scanning peoples\' brains while they watch a film. When different individuals watch a film, their brains become synchronized with each other as they watch the plot unfold. Most importantly, if a seemingly unconscious patient also shows the same brain-synchronization, it means they might actually be conscious and aware.

To approach this goal, the investigators will be carrying out this trial in healthy volunteers. This will help better understand whether psilocybin may be a potential treatment for restoring awareness in these patients. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does psilocybin enhance or diminish brain synchrony during a film?
* Do changes in brain synchrony reflect differences in each individual\'s conscious experience?

Participants will be asked to:

* Attend two brain scanning sessions and watch a series of film clips, perform a brief mental imagery task, and listen to music - once under a placebo, and once under psilocybin.
* Play a series of games that assess their cognition (memory, reasoning, planning, etc.).
* Perform a series of visual illusions tasks.

Conditions

• Disorders of Consciousness
• Psychedelic Experiences

Interventions

DRUG

Psilocybin

Individuals will be given 15 milligrams (mg) of psilocybin orally, and will be asked to lay flat in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scanner. The following scans will be collected: anatomical and resting state; while they watch a scrambled film clip; while they watch an intact film clip; while they perform a mental imagery task; while they listen to two pieces of music. Participants will then be given two questionnaires: one assessing their overall plot comprehension, and the other asking about their experience in the scanner. They will then be asked to perform a series of visual illusions tasks, and following, play a variety of web-based games assessing their cognitive function. After this, they will be interviewed by one of the study researchers about their overall experience before/during/after the scan.

OTHER

Placebo

Individuals will be given a placebo orally, and will be asked to lay flat in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The following scans will be collected: anatomical and resting state; while they watch a scrambled film clip; while they watch an intact film clip; while they perform a mental imagery task; while they listen to two pieces of music. Participants will then be given two questionnaires: one assessing their overall plot comprehension, and the other asking about their experience in the scanner. They will then be asked to perform a series of visual illusions tasks, and following, play a variety of web-based games assessing their cognitive function. After this, they will be interviewed by one of the study researchers about their overall experience before/during/after the scan.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Western University, Canada

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-30

Primary Completion

2025-09-30

Completion

2025-09-30