In vivo mapping of pharmacologically induced functional reorganization onto the human brain’s neurotransmitter landscape
Jun 14, 2023·
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Andrea Luppi, PhD
Justine Y. Hansen
Ram Adapa
Robin L. Carhart-Harris
Leor Roseman
Christopher Timmermann
Daniel Golkowski
Andreas Ranft
Rüdiger Ilg
Denis Jordan
Vincent Bonhomme
Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse
Athena Demertzi
Oceane Jaquet
Mohamed Ali Bahri
Naji L. N. Alnagger
Paolo Cardone
Alexander R. D. Peattie
Anne E. Manktelow
Draulio B. De Araujo
Stefano L. Sensi
Adrian M. Owen
Lorina Naci
David K. Menon
Bratislav Misic
Emmanuel A. Stamatakis
Abstract
To understand how pharmacological interventions can exert their powerful effects on brain function, we need tounderstand how they engage the brain’s rich neurotransmitter landscape. Here, we bridge microscale molecularchemoarchitecture and pharmacologically induced macroscale functional reorganization, by relating the regional distribution of 19 neurotransmitter receptors and transporters obtained from positron emission tomography, and the regional changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity induced by 10 different mind-altering drugs; propofol, sevoflurane, ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin, N,N-Dime-thyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), modafinil, and methylphe-nidate. Our results reveal a many-to-many mapping between psychoactive drugs’ effects on brain function andmultiple neurotransmitter systems. The effects of both anesthetics and psychedelics on brain function are organized along hierarchical gradients of brain structure and function. Last, we show that regional co-susceptibility to pharmacological interventions recapitulates co-susceptibility to disorder-induced structural alterations.Collectively, these results highlight rich statistical patterns relating molecular chemoarchitecture and drug-induced reorganization of the brain’s functional architecture.
Publication
Science Advances