Tensorpac: An open-source Python toolbox for tensor-based phase-amplitude coupling measurement in electrophysiological brain signals.

Despite being the focus of a thriving field of research, the biological mechanisms that underlie information integration in the brain are not yet fully understood. A theory that has gained a lot of traction in recent years suggests that multi-scale integration is regulated by a hierarchy of mutually interacting neural oscillations. In particular, there is accumulating evidence that phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), a specific form of cross-frequency interaction, plays a key role in numerous cognitive processes.

Altered Insula Connectivity under MDMA.

Recent work with noninvasive human brain imaging has started to investigate the effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on large-scale patterns of brain activity. MDMA, a potent monoamine-releaser with particularly pronounced serotonin- releasing properties, has unique subjective effects that include: marked positive mood, pleasant/unusual bodily sensations and pro-social, empathic feelings. However, the neurobiological basis for these effects is not properly understood, and the present analysis sought to address this knowledge gap.

Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging.

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is the prototypical psychedelic drug, but its effects on the human brain have never been studied before with modern neuroimaging. Here, three complementary neuroimaging techniques: arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) measures, and magnetoencephalography (MEG), implemented during resting state conditions, revealed marked changes in brain activity after LSD that correlated strongly with its characteristic psychological effects. Increased visual cortex cerebral blood flow (CBF), decreased visual cortex alpha power, and a greatly expanded primary visual cortex (V1) functional connectivity profile correlated strongly with ratings of visual hallucinations, implying that intrinsic brain activity exerts greater influence on visual processing in the psychedelic state, thereby defining its hallucinatory quality.