NCT03853577

Characterization of Altered Waking States of Consciousness in Healthy Humans

Completed NA Last updated 29 April 2021

What this trial tests

NA trial testing TMS/EEG in Altered Waking States of Consciousness in Healthy Humans in 25 participants. Completed in 25 April 2021.

Timeline

8 July 2020

Primary endpoint
25 April 2021

25 April 2021

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Zurich
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	crossover
Masking	quadruple
Primary purpose	basic science
Enrollment	25
Start date	8 July 2020
Primary completion	25 April 2021
Estimated completion	25 April 2021
Sites	1 location across Switzerland

Drugs / interventions tested

• TMS/EEG

Conditions studied

• Altered Waking States of Consciousness in Healthy Humans — all drugs for Altered Waking States of Consciousness in Healthy Humans →

Sponsor

University of Zurich

Who can join

Adults 18 to 40, any sex, with Altered Waking States of Consciousness in Healthy Humans. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Altered waking states of consciousness and its underlying functional organization have gained increasing interest in recent years, i.e. in identifying the neural basis of consciousness. To overcome fundamental shortcomings of current methods to objectively assess the level of consciousness, the investigators propose here to apply a novel and empirically validated measure called 'perturbational complexity index' (PCI) based on the integrated information theory (IIT). This involves a combination of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and highdensity electroencephalography (hd-EEG) to measure electrocortical responses as distributed cerebral interactions ('integration') and spatiotemporal pattern ('information'). Given the finding of subjectively expanded consciousness as induced here by psilocybin, the investigators hypothesize that the PCI may be higher in such states. This will be the first TMS/hd-EEG study to investigate quantitatively the level of consciousness in a pharmacologically altered waking state of consciousness.

Publications & conference data

4 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. TMS-EEG and resting-state EEG applied to altered states of consciousness: oscillations, complexity, and phenomenology.
   Ort A, Smallridge JW, Sarasso S, Casarotto S, et al · · 2023 · cited 26× · PMID 37138774 · DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106589
2. The Use of Psychedelics in the Treatment of Medical Conditions: An Analysis of Currently Registered Psychedelics Studies in the American Drug Trial Registry.
   Kurtz JS, Patel NA, Gendreau JL, Yang C, et al · · 2022 · cited 19× · PMID 36259015 · DOI 10.7759/cureus.29167
3. Psilocybin-induced alterations in EEG power, connectivity and network dynamics in healthy subjects: Correlations with subjective experience and implications for therapeutic applications.
   Ip CT, Olbrich S, de Bardeci M, Monn A, et al · · 2026 · PMID 41611012 · DOI 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2026.111626
4. The influence of psilocybin on subconscious and conscious emotional learning.
   Casanova AF, Ort A, Smallridge JW, Preller KH, et al · · 2024 · PMID 38883812 · DOI 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110034