Brain Mapping and Ketamine Treatment: Neuroscience and Traditional Medicine Techniques to Reshape the Brain

By Mary Kate Keller  | September 4, 2025

With the growing use of psychedelic-assisted therapy, tools like qEEG brain mapping offer a powerful way to observe real time changes in the brain, bringing clarity to what might otherwise feel abstract. In a recent interview with Dennis McKenna, Luke Jensen discussed his experience using qEEG brain mapping and psychedelic medicine to heal his PTSD following military deployment.

“People wonder, ‘Was that real or just in my head?’ But when they see the brain changes — that neuroplasticity is visible — that’s very validating.”

– Luke Jensen

Clinics like the nCenter use tools like qEEG brain mapping to open a window into the brain’s electrical activity, allowing clinicians and clients a better understanding of what is working and why. When used alongside ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) or Spravato®, brain mapping reveals the neurological shifts associated with relief from symptoms such as depression and anxiety.

What is qEEG?

Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) brain mapping is a noninvasive neuroimaging technique that utilizes electrode sensors placed on the scalp to record brainwave patterns. Clinicians are able to use these recordings to identify areas of the brain that may be overactive, underactive, or out of balance.

This technology helps reveal brain patterns commonly associated with conditions like anxiety, depression, trauma, and attention issues. For example, excess fast-wave activity in certain brain regions might indicate heightened anxiety, while slowed activity in others may be linked to symptoms of depression or lack of motivation.

“Everyone talks about ‘The Body Keeps the Score’— the body holds trauma — but the brain does too. The brain compartmentalizes trauma. We can see patterns for worry, dissociation, overthinking — that’s how the brain holds trauma. And when the trauma is released, those patterns change.”

– Luke Jensen

Neuroplasticity and Healing

Interactions with consciousness-altering medicines, such as psychedelics or plant medicines, open a window of neuroplasticity—a critical period in which the brain becomes flexible and malleable. The brain’s default mode network, or subconscious patterns of operation, is able to be disrupted and reshaped during this time.

Ketamine and Spravato (esketamine) have been shown to increase neuroplasticity in the days and weeks following treatment. And while these treatments can be deeply healing on their own, the most lasting transformation occurs in therapeutic integration work that follows. Through intentional change in thought patterns, routine, and environment, integration work can help reorganize the brain and establish new patterns.

Neuroscience and Traditional Medicine

“I’ve been using neurofeedback brain training to do brain mapping and working with plant medicines too … the research has been really important to get insight into what these plant medicines are doing — how they help heal the brain, heal trauma, and help us reach deeper consciousness.”

– Luke Jensen

QEEG brain mapping validates plant medicine effects. Luke’s research shows measurable changes in brainwave patterns following ayahuasca and wachuma ceremonies, including reductions in markers for: PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) symptoms.

Ayahuasca: Facilitates deep emotional and subconscious healing, supports attentional regulation, and helps resolve trauma.

Wachuma: Enhances feelings of connection to nature and the heart, supports integration, and appears to calm a “busy mind.”

While both promote neuroregulation and equilibrium, they do so via distinct subjective and neurological pathways. Brain changes persist beyond the ceremonies, supporting the idea that integration practices (e.g., meditation, qigong, microdosing) are critical during the heightened period of neuroplasticity.

Early exploratory data also suggests benefits from:

Microdosing psilocybin: Potential support for energy deficits and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Tobacco dieta: Unexpected calming and regulatory effects.

What We’re Learning from Spravato and Ketamine

Jensen and his research team use qEEG to create brain maps before and after interactions with plant medicines;

“We see markers for depression and anxiety go down. Focus improves. Even head trauma — we’ve seen improvement. Neuroplasticity increases. It’s very cool.”

– Luke Jensen

At Sub Rosa Therapy, we are seeing anxiety and depressive symptoms decrease throughout ketamine-assisted therapy and Spravato treatment. Not only through screeners like the GAD-7 & PHQ-9, but in the way clients report navigating their everyday lives outside of sessions and therapy.

Ketamine can help those with treatment resistant symptoms or emotional stuckness to experience relief. As Jensen says, “psychedelics are powerful because they open different brain networks, allowing novel thoughts and solutions.” And by using qEEG alongside ketamine-assisted therapy, symptom reduction and transformation is grounded in science.

Citation

Mckenna, D. (Host). (2025, June 16). Psychedelics and Brain Mapping for Trauma Healing (No. 40) [Audio podcast episode]. In Brainforest café. McKenna Academy of Natural Philosopy. https://mckenna.academy/mka-podcast/psychedelics-and-brain-mapping-for-trauma-healing/