Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Analysis of Gene Expression Changes in the Rat Hippocampus After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus
Published on: March 8, 2015
Changes in global and thalamic brain connectivity in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness are attributable to
Katrin H Preller1,2, Joshua B Burt2,3, Jie Lisa Ji2
1Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital for Psychiatry Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Background:
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has agonist activity at various serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine receptors. Despite the therapeutic and scientific interest in LSD, specific receptor contributions to its neurobiological effects remain unknown.
Methods:
We therefore conducted a double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over studyduring which 24 healthy human participants received either (i) placebo+placebo, (ii) placebo+LSD (100 µg po), or (iii) Ketanserin, a selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist,+LSD. We quantified resting-state functional connectivity via a data-driven global brain connectivity method and compared it to cortical gene expression maps.
Results:
LSD reduced associative, but concurrently increased sensory-somatomotor brain-wide and thalamic connectivity. Ketanserin fully blocked the subjective and neural LSD effects. Whole-brain spatial patterns of LSD effects matched 5-HT2A receptor cortical gene expression in humans.
Conclusions:
Together, these results strongly implicate the 5-HT2A receptor in LSD’s neuropharmacology. This study therefore pinpoints the critical role of 5-HT2A in LSD’s mechanism, which informs its neurobiology and guides rational development of psychedelic-based therapeutics.
Funding:
Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Neuromatrix Foundation, the Usona Institute, the NIH, the NIAA, the NARSAD Independent Investigator Grant, the Yale CTSA grant, and the Slovenian Research Agency.
Clinical Trial Number:
NCT02451072
Related Concept Videos
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists
Attribution Theory
Fundamental Attribution Error
Attribution
Global Climate Change
Understanding Consciousness
Sleep, a crucial state, is characterized by reduced...

