Psychedelics may increase entropy in the brain's vision centre

1 year ago 93

Mind

Computer simulations of a human brain under the influence of LSD show that entropy increases the most in regions responsible for processing vision and integrating sensory information

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Illustration of brain cells in the temporal cortex of the human brain

Shutterstock/Kateryna Kon

Taking psychedelics increases the brain’s overall entropy but the effect is most prominent in regions responsible for visual perception and integration of inputs from all senses, possibly reflecting how the drugs can induce sensations of expanded awareness.

Entropy measures how rich and disordered a system is. As an example, think of your kitchen sink. Entropy is high when the system has many parts that are not ordered – like plates, forks and glasses scattered all around – and …

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