Data from: Changes in brain structure and function following exposure to oral LSD during adolescence: A multimodal MRI study

Background: LSD  is a hallucinogen with complex neurobiological
and behavioral effects.  Underlying these effects are changes in
brain neuroplasticity. This is the first study to follow the developmental
changes in brain structure and function following LSD exposure in
periadolescence.  We hypothesized LSD given during a time of
heightened neuroplasticity, particularly in the forebrain, would affect
cognitive and emotional behavior and the associated underlying
neuroanatomy and neurocircuitry.    Methods: Female and
male mice were given vehicle, single, or multiple treatments of 3.3 µg of
LSD by oral gavage starting on postnatal day 51. Between postnatal days
90-120 mice were imaged and tested for cognitive and motor behavior. MRI
data from voxel-based morphometry, diffusion weighted imaging, and BOLD
resting state functional connectivity were registered to a mouse 3D MRI
atlas with 139 brain regions providing site-specific differences in global
brain structure and functional connectivity between experimental groups.
Results: Motor behavior and cognitive performance were unaffected by
periadolescent exposure to LSD. Differences across experimental groups in
brain volume for any of the 139 brain areas were few in number and not
focused on any specific brain region. Multiple exposures to LSD
significantly altered gray matter microarchitecture across much of the
brain. These changes were primary associated with the thalamus, sensory
and motor cortices, and basal ganglia. The forebrain olfactory system and
prefrontal cortex and hindbrain cerebellum and brainstem were unaffected.
The functional connectivity between forebrain white matter tracts and
sensorimotor cortices and hippocampus was reduced with multidose LSD
exposure. Conclusion: Does early exposure to LSD in periadolescence have
lasting effects on brain development? There was no evidence of LSD having
consequential effects on cognitive or motor behavior when animal were
evaluated as young adults 90-120 days of age.   Neither
were there any differences in the volume of specific brain areas between
experimental conditions. The pronounced changes in indices of anisotropy
across much of the brain would suggest altered gray matter
microarchitecture and neuroplasticity. The reduction in connectivity in
forebrain white matter tracts with multidose LSD and consolidation around
sensorimotor and hippocampal brain areas requires a battery of tests to
understand the consequences of these changes on behavior.