Cited by 454Psychedelics and Drug StudiesFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesPain Management and Placebo Effect

The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network

Open access
Palhano-Fontes, Fernanda, Andrade, Katia C., Tofoli, Luis F., Santos, Antonio C., Crippa, Jose Alexandre S., Hallak, Jaime E. C., Ribeiro, Sidarta, de Araujo, Draulio B.·2015·PLOS ONE

Abstract

The experiences induced by psychedelics share a wide variety of subjective features, related to the complex changes in perception and cognition induced by this class of drugs. A remarkable increase in introspection is at the core of these altered states of consciousness. Self-oriented mental activity has been consistently linked to the Default Mode Network (DMN), a set of brain regions more active during rest than during the execution of a goal-directed task. Here we used fMRI technique to inspect the DMN during the psychedelic state induced by Ayahuasca in ten experienced subjects. Ayahuasca is a potion traditionally used by Amazonian Amerindians composed by a mixture of compounds that increase monoaminergic transmission. In particular, we examined whether Ayahuasca changes the activity and connectivity of the DMN and the connection between the DMN and the task-positive network (TPN). Ayahuasca caused a significant decrease in activity through most parts of the DMN, including its most consistent hubs: the Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC)/Precuneus and the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC). Functional connectivity within the PCC/Precuneus decreased after Ayahuasca intake. No significant change was observed in the DMN-TPN orthogonality. Altogether, our results support the notion that the altered state of consciousness induced by Ayahuasca, like those induced by psilocybin (another serotonergic psychedelic), meditation and sleep, is linked to the modulation of the activity and the connectivity of the DMN.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0118143

Cites

62 of 62 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Traditions of meditation and ritual use of medicinal plants, fungi, and animals with consciousness-altering capacities have similar abilities to induce trance states, although these are often used in more inward-focused settings to explore one's own body/mind and connection to the adjoining socio-ecological environment.

    “Traditions of meditation and ritual use of medicinal plants, fungi, and animals with consciousness-altering capacities have similar abilities to induce trance states, although these are often used in more inward-focused settings to explore one's own body/mind and connection to the adjoining socio-ecological environment-even if practiced as a group (Millière et al. 2018; Palhano-Fontes et al. 2015;”

    From Cultural Evolution of Religion, Spirituality and Ritual: Impacts On Human Cooperation (2024) · cites this paper as Palhano-Fontes et al. 2015

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • During psychedelic experience, fMRI shows the default mode network is modulated, sharply reducing blood flow and connection within its nodes, leading to decreased functional connectivity within the DMN and increased between-network connectivity.

    “It has been demonstrated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that during psychedelic experience, the DMN is modulated, which sharply reduces blood flow and connection within its nodes [46], leading to decreased functional connectivity within the DMN and increased between-network connectivity [47, 48].”

    From Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics: potential synergies and commonalities (2023) · cites this paper as [47]

    The Results report reduced DMN BOLD activity after ayahuasca and reduced functional connectivity within the PCC/precuneus. They do not establish a reduction in blood flow or connectivity across all DMN nodes; connectivity between the mPFC and PCC did not change significantly. The increased between-network connectivity clause is cited to [47, 48], not this source. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Administration of various psychedelic drugs has led to transient deactivation of certain DMN hubs, including the mPFC, PCC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

    “Similarly, the administration of various psychedelic drugs has led to transient deactivation of certain DMN hubs, including the mPFC, PCC and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (45, 114).”

    From Examining the Potential Synergistic Effects Between Mindfulness Training and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (2021) · cites this paper as [114]

    The Results report significantly reduced activity in the ACC, PCC and mPFC after ayahuasca intake; the Introduction also notes reduced DMN activity with psilocybin. The paper does not establish that deactivation in all three regions occurs with various psychedelic drugs, or demonstrate that the reductions are transient. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Palhano-Fontes et al. (2015) reported decreased BOLD signal in DMN nodes including the MPFC and PCC during ayahuasca intoxication.

    “Palhano-Fontes et al. (2015) reported decreased BOLD signal in DMN nodes including the MPFC and PCC during ayahuasca intoxication.”

    From Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience (2017) · cites this paper as Palhano-Fontes et al. 2015

  • Classic psychedelics acutely reduce activity and internal functional connectivity within the DMN.

    “A number of studies have demonstrated that classic psychedelics acutely reduce activity and internal functional connectivity within the DMN [28, 29], potentially reducing abstracted (perceptually decoupled) and self-referential rumination, a hallmark of depressotypic thinking [30–32].”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Palhano-Fontes, F., Andrade, K. C., Tofoli, L. F., Santos, A. C., Crippa, J. A. S., Hallak, J. E. C., Ribeiro, S., & de Araujo, D. B.
Affiliations
  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
Venue
PLOS ONE
Published
2015-02-18
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
e0118143
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2093477837
Cited by
454
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 6
FWCI
33.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
  • Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
  • Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
Keywords
ayahuasca, default mode network, task-positive network, altered states of consciousness, psychedelic effects, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, functional connectivity, self-reflection, psilocybin, meditation, sleep
MeSH terms
Adult, Consciousness Disorders, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Hallucinogens, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Psilocybin, Prefrontal Cortex, Banisteriopsis, Young Adult, Connectome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review