Default Mode Network

Research by Robin Carhart-Harris and others has shown that psychedelics temporarily disrupt default mode network activity, which correlates with reduced ego identification and the subjective experience of ego dissolution. The DMN is sometimes described as the neural substrate of the "narrative self," the ongoing story we tell ourselves about who we are. Its disruption may allow new patterns of neural communication, potentially explaining the sense of openness and cognitive flexibility often reported during and after psychedelic experiences.