TY - JOUR

T1 - Psilocybin-Induced Mystical-Type Experiences are Related to Persisting Positive Effects

T2 - A Quantitative and Qualitative Report

AU - McCulloch, Drummond E-Wen

AU - Grzywacz, Maria Zofia

AU - Madsen, Martin Korsbak

AU - Jensen, Peter Steen

AU - Ozenne, Brice

AU - Armand, Sophia

AU - Knudsen, Gitte Moos

AU - Fisher, Patrick MacDonald

AU - Stenbaek, Dea Siggaard

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin have shown substantial promise for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions including mood and addictive disorders. They also have the remarkable property of producing persisting positive psychological changes in healthy volunteers for at least several months. In this study (NCT03289949), 35 medium-high doses of psilocybin were administered to 28 healthy volunteers (12 females). By the end of the dosing day, participants reported the intensity of their acute experience using the 30-item Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) and an open-form qualitative report from home. Persisting psychological effects attributed to the psilocybin experience were measured using the Persisting Effects Questionnaire (PEQ) 3-months after administration. Using a linear latent-variable model we show that the MEQ total score is positively associated with the later emergence of positive PEQ effects (p = 3 x 10(-5)). Moreover, the MEQ subscales "Positive Mood" (p(corr) = 4.1 x 10(-4)) and "Mysticality" (p(corr) = 2.0 x 10(-4)) are associated with positive PEQ whereas the subscales "Transcendence of Time and Space" (p(corr) = 0.38) and "Ineffability" (p(corr) = 0.45) are not. Using natural language pre-processing, we provide the first qualitative descriptions of the "Complete Mystical Experience" induced by orally administered psilocybin in healthy volunteers, revealing themes such as a sense of connection with the Universe, familial love, and the experience of profound beauty. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper expands understanding of the acute psilocybin induced experience in healthy volunteers and suggests an importance of the type of experience in predicting lasting positive effects.

AB - Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin have shown substantial promise for the treatment of several psychiatric conditions including mood and addictive disorders. They also have the remarkable property of producing persisting positive psychological changes in healthy volunteers for at least several months. In this study (NCT03289949), 35 medium-high doses of psilocybin were administered to 28 healthy volunteers (12 females). By the end of the dosing day, participants reported the intensity of their acute experience using the 30-item Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) and an open-form qualitative report from home. Persisting psychological effects attributed to the psilocybin experience were measured using the Persisting Effects Questionnaire (PEQ) 3-months after administration. Using a linear latent-variable model we show that the MEQ total score is positively associated with the later emergence of positive PEQ effects (p = 3 x 10(-5)). Moreover, the MEQ subscales "Positive Mood" (p(corr) = 4.1 x 10(-4)) and "Mysticality" (p(corr) = 2.0 x 10(-4)) are associated with positive PEQ whereas the subscales "Transcendence of Time and Space" (p(corr) = 0.38) and "Ineffability" (p(corr) = 0.45) are not. Using natural language pre-processing, we provide the first qualitative descriptions of the "Complete Mystical Experience" induced by orally administered psilocybin in healthy volunteers, revealing themes such as a sense of connection with the Universe, familial love, and the experience of profound beauty. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper expands understanding of the acute psilocybin induced experience in healthy volunteers and suggests an importance of the type of experience in predicting lasting positive effects.

KW - psychedelic

KW - psilocybin

KW - qualitative

KW - psychology

KW - natural language processing

KW - mystical

KW - phenomenology

KW - persisting effects

KW - LIFE-THREATENING CANCER

KW - ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

KW - DOUBLE-BLIND

KW - DEPRESSION

KW - ANXIETY

KW - QUESTIONNAIRE

KW - VALIDATION

KW - DRUGS

KW - INDEX

KW - LSD

U2 - 10.3389/fphar.2022.841648

DO - 10.3389/fphar.2022.841648

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35355714

VL - 13

JO - Frontiers in Pharmacology

JF - Frontiers in Pharmacology

SN - 1663-9812

M1 - 841648

ER -