Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42168715›Full record

ArticleNeuroscience bulletin2026

Mescaline Alters Cerebellar Function, Global Connectivity, and Frequency-Selective Acoustic Gating: A BOLD fMRI Study in Awake Rats.

Noah Cavallaro, Priya Rai, David Akins, Sima Soltanpour, Md Taufiq Nasseef, Richard J Ortiz, Rachel Utama, Caitlyn R Cody, Anoushka Mistry, Heather C Brenhouse and 2 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Neuroscience bulletin, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Noah CavallaroCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Priya RaiCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
David AkinsCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Sima SoltanpourSchool of Information Technology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
Md Taufiq NasseefDepartment of Mathematics, College of Science and Humanity Studies, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, 16273, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Richard J OrtizDepartment of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA.
Rachel UtamaCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Caitlyn R CodyPsychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Anoushka MistryCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Heather C BrenhousePsychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Praveen P KulkarniCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Craig F FerrisCenter for Translational Neuroimaging, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. c.ferris@northeastern.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9744-5214

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mescaline, a 5-HT2A agonist psychedelic used ceremonially for millennia, lacks neuroimaging characterization due to its Schedule 1 status. Using pharmacological and resting-state fMRI in awake rats, we report mescaline's first comprehensive neurobiological profile. Acutely, mescaline produced cerebellar-selective BOLD suppression, suggesting functional disconnection from forebrain structures. Paradoxically, resting-state analysis revealed global hyperconnectivity, with the cerebellum forming enhanced connections to the hippocampus, thalamus, somatosensory cortex, and midbrain. Mescaline abolished normal BOLD responses to rewarding olfactory stimuli, indicating disrupted sensory processing. Pre-pulse inhibition showed frequency-dependent acoustic gating effects: enhancement at 4 kHz (+ 27.6%) and 20 kHz (+ 27.3%), but impairment at 12 kHz (- 16.4%). These findings distinguish mescaline from LSD and psilocybin, implicating the cerebellum as a dysregulated sensory filter that floods forebrain circuits with unprocessed sensorimotor information-a potential mechanism underlying psychedelic-induced perceptual alterations.

Indexed as

CerebellumHallucinogensSensory GatingSerotonin 5-HT2 Receptor AgonistsAcoustic StimulationAnimalsBrain MappingMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleNeural PathwaysRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyWakefulnessHallucinogensSerotonin 5-HT2 Receptor AgonistsBOLD resting state functional connectivityCerebellumFearHippocampusPharmacological MRIReward

Identifiers

PMID42168715
PMCPMC13642855

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Registered trials

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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.