This Research Topic is a special awarded collection. To be eligible for a potential award supporting your submission, please ensure you submit your abstract here at least two weeks before submitting your manuscript.

Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, and MDMA, have resurfaced as compounds of major interest in neuropsychiatric research due to their potential to profoundly alter consciousness and impact mental health. Parallel advances in neuroimaging techniques—including fMRI, PET, EEG, and MEG—have provided unprecedented windows into the human brain’s functional and structural changes in response to these substances. As the use of psychedelics in clinical, therapeutic, and wellness contexts expands, leveraging neuroimaging data is essential for understanding their mechanisms of action, safety, and therapeutic promise.

Despite significant progress, many questions remain about how psychedelics influence brain health at the neural systems level, both acutely and over time. There is an urgent need to integrate findings from neuroimaging studies to clarify how psychedelics affect brain network connectivity, neurotransmitter dynamics, and neuroplasticity, particularly in relation to mood, cognition, and mental health outcomes. This Research Topic aims to address these knowledge gaps by gathering original research, reviews, case studies, and perspectives that systematically evaluate how neuroimaging can illuminate the effects and therapeutic potential of psychedelic compounds. By facilitating multidisciplinary dialogue among neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and imaging experts, we hope to drive forward the safe, evidence-based integration of psychedelics into brain health research and clinical practice.

We welcome submissions exploring both preclinical and clinical neuroimaging research that sheds light on the effects of psychedelics on the brain. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Neuroimaging studies of acute and long-term effects of psychedelics

• Changes in brain network connectivity and functional organization

• Neurotransmitter dynamics and receptor mapping

• Imaging biomarkers for therapeutic response and safety

• Correlations between neuroimaging data and clinical or behavioral outcomes

• Comparative studies of different psychedelic compounds

• Advances in neuroimaging methodology related to psychedelic research

• Ethical and methodological considerations in neuroimaging and psychedelic studies

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Psychedelics & brain health: Insights from neuroimaging