Investigating emotional reactivity in experienced users of psychedelics : a cross‐sectional fMRI study

2026
journal article
article
dc.abstract.enClassic psychedelics profoundly alter emotional states, inducing intense acute experiences lasting hours, followed by subtler, longer‐lasting changes in emotional reactivity that can persist for weeks. While experimental and clinical studies document these prolonged effects, the highly context‐dependent nature of psychedelic experiences leaves open the question of whether naturalistic, nonclinical use similarly modulates emotional processing. To investigate this, we conducted a preregistered, cross‐sectional fMRI study comparing experienced psychedelic users (≥ 10 lifetime uses; N = 33) with closely matched nonusers (N = 34). Participants performed an emotional face recognition task, and we examined behavioral performance and neural responses to angry, happy, and fearful facial expressions. Behavioral results revealed that psychedelic users recognized angry expressions more quickly and accurately, indicating enhanced processing efficiency for threat‐related stimuli. Consistent with this, whole‐brain fMRI analyses showed reduced activation to anger in key limbic and salience network regions. Psychedelic users also exhibited heightened responses to happy expressions in parietal and sensorimotor cortices - aligning with prior clinical observations - as well as increased precuneus activation to fearful expressions. Region‐of‐interest analyses further demonstrated reduced differentiation between emotional categories in two default mode network nodes: the frontal medial cortex and parahippocampal gyrus. These findings provide a nuanced characterization of neurofunctional changes in emotional processing linked to repeated naturalistic psychedelic use. By bridging clinical and real‐world contexts, this work deepens our understanding of the potential long‐term consequences of psychedelics and complements existing evidence from controlled therapeutic settings.
dc.affiliationSzkoła Doktorska Nauk Społecznych
dc.affiliationPion Prorektora ds. nauki : Centrum Badań Mózgu
dc.contributor.authorOrłowski, Paweł - 496872
dc.contributor.authorDomagalik-Pittner, Aleksandra - 135778
dc.contributor.authorBola, Michał - 352407
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-16T12:35:58Z
dc.date.available2026-04-16T12:35:58Z
dc.date.createdat2026-04-13T19:27:43Zen
dc.date.issued2026
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.number5
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume47
dc.identifier.articleide70522
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/hbm.70522
dc.identifier.eissn1097-0193
dc.identifier.issn1065-9471
dc.identifier.projectDRC AI
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/572961
dc.languageeng
dc.language.containereng
dc.rightsUdzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa - Użycie niekomercyjne 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY-NC
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.typeotwarte czasopismo
dc.source.integratorfalse
dc.subject.enclassic psychedelics
dc.subject.enemotional reactivity
dc.subject.enemotions
dc.subject.enfMRI
dc.subject.enlong- term effects
dc.subject.ennaturalistic use
dc.subtypeArticle
dc.titleInvestigating emotional reactivity in experienced users of psychedelics : a cross‐sectional fMRI study
dc.title.journalHuman Brain Mapping
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublicationen
dc.abstract.en
Classic psychedelics profoundly alter emotional states, inducing intense acute experiences lasting hours, followed by subtler, longer‐lasting changes in emotional reactivity that can persist for weeks. While experimental and clinical studies document these prolonged effects, the highly context‐dependent nature of psychedelic experiences leaves open the question of whether naturalistic, nonclinical use similarly modulates emotional processing. To investigate this, we conducted a preregistered, cross‐sectional fMRI study comparing experienced psychedelic users (≥ 10 lifetime uses; N = 33) with closely matched nonusers (N = 34). Participants performed an emotional face recognition task, and we examined behavioral performance and neural responses to angry, happy, and fearful facial expressions. Behavioral results revealed that psychedelic users recognized angry expressions more quickly and accurately, indicating enhanced processing efficiency for threat‐related stimuli. Consistent with this, whole‐brain fMRI analyses showed reduced activation to anger in key limbic and salience network regions. Psychedelic users also exhibited heightened responses to happy expressions in parietal and sensorimotor cortices - aligning with prior clinical observations - as well as increased precuneus activation to fearful expressions. Region‐of‐interest analyses further demonstrated reduced differentiation between emotional categories in two default mode network nodes: the frontal medial cortex and parahippocampal gyrus. These findings provide a nuanced characterization of neurofunctional changes in emotional processing linked to repeated naturalistic psychedelic use. By bridging clinical and real‐world contexts, this work deepens our understanding of the potential long‐term consequences of psychedelics and complements existing evidence from controlled therapeutic settings.
dc.affiliation
Szkoła Doktorska Nauk Społecznych
dc.affiliation
Pion Prorektora ds. nauki : Centrum Badań Mózgu
dc.contributor.author
Orłowski, Paweł - 496872
dc.contributor.author
Domagalik-Pittner, Aleksandra - 135778
dc.contributor.author
Bola, Michał - 352407
dc.date.accessioned
2026-04-16T12:35:58Z
dc.date.available
2026-04-16T12:35:58Z
dc.date.createdaten
2026-04-13T19:27:43Z
dc.date.issued
2026
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.number
5
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume
47
dc.identifier.articleid
e70522
dc.identifier.doi
10.1002/hbm.70522
dc.identifier.eissn
1097-0193
dc.identifier.issn
1065-9471
dc.identifier.project
DRC AI
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/572961
dc.language
eng
dc.language.container
eng
dc.rights
Udzielam licencji. Uznanie autorstwa - Użycie niekomercyjne 4.0 Międzynarodowa
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY-NC
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.pl
dc.share.type
otwarte czasopismo
dc.source.integrator
false
dc.subject.en
classic psychedelics
dc.subject.en
emotional reactivity
dc.subject.en
emotions
dc.subject.en
fMRI
dc.subject.en
long- term effects
dc.subject.en
naturalistic use
dc.subtype
Article
dc.title
Investigating emotional reactivity in experienced users of psychedelics : a cross‐sectional fMRI study
dc.title.journal
Human Brain Mapping
dc.type
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeen
Publication
Affiliations

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