Article (Scientific journals)
A Virtual Clinical Trial of Psychedelics to Treat Patients With Disorders of Consciousness.
Alnagger, Naji; Cardone, Paolo; Martial, Charlotte et al.
2025In Advanced Science, p. 11780
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Keywords :
criticality; diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI); disorders of consciousness; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); psychedelics; whole‐brain modeling
Abstract :
[en] Disorders of consciousness (DoC), including unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), have limited treatment options and are characterized by low complexity of brain activity. Recent research suggests that psychedelic drugs, which enhance the complexity of brain activity, could offer promising therapies. Here, individualized whole-brain computational models are developed for patients with DoC, optimized with empirical functional magnetic resonance imaging data and diffusion-weighted imaging data, upon which the administration of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin is simulated. An in silico perturbation protocol is applied to assess brain dynamics, first distinguishing between different states of consciousness, including DoC, anesthesia, and the psychedelic state. Then, brain dynamics are assessed before and after a simulation of psychedelic drugs on patients with DoC. Findings indicated that the simulation of LSD and psilocybin shifted the brain activity of patients with DoC closer to criticality (the point at a phase transition between order and chaos), with a greater effect in patients in the MCS. In patients with UWS, the treatment response correlated with structural connectivity, while in patients in the MCS, it aligned with baseline functional connectivity. These results offer a computational foundation for using psychedelics in DoC treatment and highlight the potential future role of computational modeling in drug discovery and personalized medicine.
Disciplines :
Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Alnagger, Naji  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Coma Science Group
Cardone, Paolo  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Coma Science Group
Martial, Charlotte  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Coma Science Group
Perl, Yonatan Sanz ;  Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, 75013, France ; Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 08005, Spain
Mindlin, Iván ;  Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, 75013, France
Sitt, Jacobo D ;  Institut du Cerveau - Paris Brain Institute - ICM, Inserm CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, 75013, France
Roseman, Leor ;  Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK ; Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W12 0HS, UK
Carhart-Harris, Robin ;  Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W12 0HS, UK ; Psychedelics Division, Neuroscape, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, CA 94158, USA
Nutt, David ;  Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, W12 0HS, UK
Mallaroni, Pablo ;  Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, The Netherlands
Mason, Natasha ;  Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, The Netherlands
Ramaekers, Johannes G ;  Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, The Netherlands
Bonhomme, Vincent  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Anesthésie et réanimation
Laureys, Steven  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques ; CERVO Brain Research Centre, Laval University, 2601 de la Canardière, Québec, G1J 2G3, Canada
Deco, Gustavo ;  Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 08005, Spain
Gosseries, Olivia   ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Coma Science Group
Nunez Novo, Pablo   ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques ; Biomedical Engineering Group, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, 47011, Spain ; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, (CIBER-BBN), Madrid, 28029, Spain
Annen, Jitka   ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Neurosciences - Coma Science Group ; Department of Data Analysis, University of Ghent, Henri Dunantlaan 1, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
More authors (8 more) Less
 These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
A Virtual Clinical Trial of Psychedelics to Treat Patients With Disorders of Consciousness.
Publication date :
20 November 2025
Journal title :
Advanced Science
eISSN :
2198-3844
Publisher :
Wiley, Germany
Pages :
e11780
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique
Available on ORBi :
since 22 December 2025

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