Scientists Identify Key Neural Mechanisms Behind An LSD Trip
In 2008, two psychiatrists theorized that disruptions in the normal functioning of the CSTC loop was largely responsible for the altered states of consciousness experienced by people who take LSD, psilocybin, and other classical psychedelics. In particular, this CSTC model focused on the thalamus, a region of the brain that processes sensory information, regulates the information that gets passed to the cortex, which is responsible for consciousness, attention, memory, and other major brain functions. LSD targets many of the receptors that regulate the CSTC loop, so by imaging the brains of their subjects when they were on LSD and when they were sober, the researchers could see how LSD affects the normal functioning of the CSTC loop.
Source: motherboard.vice.com