Does psilocybin alter the brain’s response to food choice and reward?

This interventional trial (n=10) will investigate whether psilocybin (20mg) alters the brain’s response to food choice and reward in healthy adults.

Conducted by Monash University, with funding from both Monash and the Inside Out Institute at the University of Sydney, the study involves participants who have prior experience with classic psychedelics.

The trial will utilise fMRI scans to monitor brain activity during a food choice task at two time points: approximately one week before and on the day of administering a 20 mg oral dose of psilocybin. The scans will be accompanied by a food choice task using a “gustometer” to deliver small volumes of high or low-calorie liquid food directly into the participant’s mouth.

The study aims to assess changes in brain activation, food preferences, and subjective experiences related to psilocybin ingestion. The results could provide insights into the therapeutic application of psilocybin for eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa.

Recruitment is anticipated to start on 1 August 2024.

Trial Details

Psilocybin is proposed to act via a loosening of cognitive control processes thereby rectifying deeply engrained patterns of thought and behaviour to promote cognitive flexibility. There is also evidence that psychedelics (psilocybin & LSD) alter dopaminergic reward signalling in healthy participants, but whether or not this is associated with responses to food choice or food reward is unknown. This project with use brain imaging techniques to investigate the brain networks that integrate information about the nutritional state of the body (e.g., hunger, satiety) with decision-making systems important to food choice and how they are altered by psilocybin. To do this, we will acquire brain scans of healthy adults before and after they have been administered a single dose of psilocybin, while they are completing an in-scan food choice task using a custom designed liquid food delivery apparatus (a "gustometer"). This information is critical to inform the therapeutic application of psilocybin in eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, in which patients experience aberrant food reward processing that contributes to their disorder maintenance and relapse. Clinical trials in this patient population are already underway, underscoring the important of obtaining this critical information in a timely manner.

NCT Number ACTRN12624000910505

Data attribution

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