ArticleSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience2026
Ayahuasca enhances functional connectivity in the third visual pathway and mirror neuron networks: a crossover, multiple-dose functional MRI study.
Article in Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of psychedelics on social perception and cognition may be instrumental to unravel their therapeutic potential. We conducted a pharmacoimaging study to examine ayahuasca's effects on a key theory of mind region, at the core of the third visual pathway (TVP)-the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), which is involved in facial emotion recognition and social perception. Twelve healthy participants (mean age: 40 ± 6.6 years; four females) completed a crossover design with three conditions: 0.5 mg/kg N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 0.8 mg/kg DMT, and placebo, with 1-2 months washout intervals. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess pSTS functional and effective connectivity. The highest dose significantly increased right pSTS connectivity and directed modulation from visual (primary and extrastriate cortices) and mirror neuron regions (supplementary motor cortex; SMC). Subjectively, this enhanced social cognitive states, with a strong positive correlation between pSTS-SMC connectivity and perspective-taking experiences. Additionally, ayahuasca produced positive psychological effects, including improved perceived social relationships, at 1-week follow-up despite minimal acute effects. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of action of psychedelics at early stages of social information processing, with enhanced integration of the TVP and mirror neuron systems. The pSTS emerged as a critical hub supported by top-down and bottom-up evidence, providing a basis for understanding ayahuasca's prosocial therapeutic effects.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.