Psychedelics enhance small-world propensity

202309151638

LSD induces an increase in small-world propensity functional brain networks (Luppi2021)

  • Increase only observed during primarily segregated substate (and for time-averaged FC) when considering binary networks comprising only the strongest connections
  • When weight of connections was considered, increased small-world propensity was seen during both substates
  • Increase in small-world propensity results from opposing trends (deviation of characteristic path length from random network increased under LSD, reducing propensity; compensated by decrease in deviation of network’s clustering coefficient from a regular network)

small-world character of the brain is compromised by loss of consciousness
Small-world organisation is a marker of optimal balance between local and global processing


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