Scientific Reports
September 11, 2026
Pedro J. Teixeira, Aaron D. Cherniak, Matthias Forstmann
While some studies suggest that psychedelic use may be linked to positive environmental attitudes and health behaviors, the relationship between these factors remains underexplored. This study investigates the associations between lifetime use of psilocybin and LSD, environmental attitudes, and dietary behaviors using data from two UK birth cohort studies: the 1958 National Child Development...
Consciousness and Cognition
2026
Matthias Forstmann, Pascal Burgmer
We developed and validated the Nature of Mind Scale (NOMS), a 24-item measure assessing lay beliefs about eight distinct philosophical positions on the mind-body relationship. Given the limitations of existing measures and the theoretical diversity of mind-body positions, our goal was to develop a comprehensive yet practical scale that could capture the full range of philosophical stances...
The Oxford Handbook of Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences
October 22, 2025
Matthias Forstmann
Abstract This chapter argues that the epistemically transformative nature of the psychedelic experience itself (i.e., gaining fundamental knowledge through experiential novelty regarding states of consciousness), rather than its specific subjective effects, may be the primary driver of its personal and therapeutic effects. Drawing on historical and cross-cultural examples of psychedelic use in...
Current Opinion in Psychology
April 1, 2025
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou
11 citations
Recent research suggests that serotonergic psychedelics may simultaneously enhance connectedness to both social and natural worlds. This article synthesizes current evidence regarding psychedelics' effects on nature relatedness and social connectedness, examining underlying mechanisms through the framework of self-other overlap. Psychedelics appear to facilitate self-expansion through two...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2023
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou, Alexander Irvine et al.
18 citations
Background: Past research reports a positive relationship between experience with classic serotonergic psychedelics and nature relatedness (NR). However, these studies typically do not distinguish between different psychedelic compounds, which have a unique psychopharmacology and may be used in specific contexts and with different intentions. Likewise, it is not clear whether these findings can...
Drug Science Policy and Law
2022
Christina Sagioglou, Matthias Forstmann
12 citations
Lifetime psychedelic substance use has previously been linked to nature relatedness and pro-environmental behaviour. Yet, participants’ responses to the self-report measures in these studies may have been affected by stereotypical associations or confirmation bias. We therefore re-examined this link by measuring three pro-environmental dependent variables: nature relatedness, concerns about...
European Psychologist
September 17, 2021
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou
6 citations
Abstract. After decades of stagnation, research on psychedelic substances (such as lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], psilocybin, or N,N-dimethyltryptamine [DMT]) has experienced a renaissance over the last 10 years, with various major research programs being conducted across Europe and the United States. This research primarily investigates the potential of psychedelics in the treatment of...
Public Understanding of Science
December 25, 2020
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou
44 citations
Across three studies (total N = 952), we tested how self-admitted use of psychedelics and association with psychedelic culture affects the public’s evaluation of researchers’ scientific integrity and of the quality of their research. In Studies 1 and 2, we found that self-admitted substance use negatively affected people’s assessment of a fictitious researcher’s integrity (i.e. being unbiased,...
Health Psychol Open
July 1, 2020
Sam Gandy, Matthias Forstmann, Robin Lester Carhart-Harris et al.
64 citations
The potential synergistic effects between psychedelic administration and nature contact for the improvement of mental health.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
January 21, 2020
Matthias Forstmann, Daniel Alexander Yudkin, Annayah Miranda Beatrice Prosser et al.
185 citations
Past research suggests that use of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin may have positive effects on mood and feelings of social connectedness. These psychological effects are thought to be highly sensitive to context, but robust and direct evidence for them in a naturalistic setting is scarce. In a series of field studies involving over 1,200 participants across six multiday mass...
Consciousness and Cognition
August 1, 2018
Matthias Forstmann, Pascal Burgmer
In this article, we show that lay people's beliefs about how minds relate to bodies are more complex than past research suggests, and that treating them as a multidimensional construct helps explain inconclusive findings from the literature regarding their relation to beliefs about whether humans possess a free will. In two studies, we found that items previously used to assess a unidimensional...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
June 20, 2017
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou
153 citations
In a large-scale ( N = 1487) general population online study, we investigated the relationship between past experience with classic psychedelic substances (e.g. LSD, psilocybin, mescaline), nature relatedness, and ecological behavior (e.g. saving water, recycling). Using structural equation modeling we found that experience with classic psychedelics uniquely predicted self-reported engagement...
Matthias Forstmann, Christina Sagioglou
preprint
After decades of stagnancy, research on psychedelic substances (such as LSD, psilocybin or DMT) has experienced a renaissance over the last 10 years, with various major research programs being conducted across Europe and the United States. This research primarily investigates the potential of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders, their short and long term effects on...