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Paweł Orłowski

15 papers in the library · 73 citations · publishing 2018-2026

Papers

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Relationship Between Naturalistic Psychedelic Use and Grandiose Narcissism: An Online Cross‐Sectional Study

International Journal of Psychology July 14, 2026 Anastasia Ruban, Paweł Orłowski, Michał Bola et al.

ABSTRACT The present study examined the relationship between naturalistic psychedelic use and two distinct forms of grandiose narcissism: admiration and rivalry . Using data from an online survey, we compared psychedelic users ( N = 630), non‐users ( N = 100) and individuals planning to use psychedelics in the future ( N = 141) on levels of admiration and rivalry. Additionally, we explored how...

DOI: 10.1002/ijop.70237 (opens in new tab) Narcissism Naturalism Cross-sectional study Statistics +1

When the psychedelic state’s over: limited evidence for persistent neurophysiological changes in naturalistic psychedelic users

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) April 2, 2026 Maja Wójcik, Paweł Orłowski, Stanisław Adamczyk et al. preprint

Abstract Background Contemporary research indicates that psychedelics induce notable neurophysiological changes, some lasting weeks to months after a single dose. However, most evidence derives from acute administration studies and limited post-acute follow-ups. Long-term naturalistic psychedelic users remain critically underexamined, yet may exhibit distinct neurobiological profiles informing...

Investigating Emotional Reactivity in Experienced Users of Psychedelics: A Cross‐Sectional fMRI Study

Human Brain Mapping April 1, 2026 Paweł Orłowski, Aleksandra Domagalik, Michał Bola

Classic psychedelics profoundly alter emotional states, inducing intense acute experiences lasting hours, followed by subtler, longer-lasting changes in emotional reactivity that can persist for weeks. While experimental and clinical studies document these prolonged effects, the highly context-dependent nature of psychedelic experiences leaves open the question of whether naturalistic,...

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.70522 (opens in new tab) Default mode network Precuneus Facial expression Anger +13

Setting the Stage for the Inner Journey: Unraveling the Interplay of Contextual Factors and the Intensity of Ego-Dissolution in Naturalistic Psychedelic Experiences

February 26, 2025 Stanisław Adamczyk, Małgorzata Paczyńska, Anastasia Ruban et al. 1 citation preprint

Psychedelic substances have the potential to induce profound alterations in cognition, emotionality, and sensory perception. The quality and intensity of these subjective effects exhibit high intra- and inter-individual variability, which can potentially be accounted for by the variability in contexts in which psychedelics are used. Therefore, the aim of the present cross-sectional study was to...

Setting the Stage for the Inner Journey: Unraveling the Interplay of Contextual Factors and the Intensity of Psychedelic-Induced Ego Dissolution.

Journal of Psychoactive Drugs February 13, 2025 Stanisław Adamczyk, Małgorzata Paczyńska, Anastasia Ruban et al. 2 citations

Psychedelics have the potential to induce profound alterations in cognition, emotionality, and sensory perception. The quality and intensity of these subjective effects exhibit high intra- and inter-individual variability, which can potentially be accounted for by the variability in contexts in which psychedelics are used. Therefore, the aim of the present cross-sectional study was to...

DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2025.2464797 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Ego dissolution Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens Psychoactive substances +8

Processing of self-related thoughts in experienced users of classic psychedelics: A source localisation EEG study.

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry January 10, 2025 Anastasia Ruban, Mikołaj Magnuski, Justyna Hobot et al. 1 citation

Psychedelics have gained increasing interest in scientific research due to their ability to induce profound alterations in perception, emotional processing and self-consciousness. However, the research regarding the functioning of individuals who use psychedelics in naturalistic contexts remains limited. Here we aim to explore psychological and neurophysiological differences between...

DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111196 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) Electroencephalography Psychedelics Self-consiousness Self-related thoughts

Naturalistic use of psychedelics does not modulate processing of self-related stimuli (but it might modulate attentional mechanisms): An event-related potentials study.

Psychophysiology August 1, 2024 Paweł Orłowski, Justyna Hobot, Anastasia Ruban et al. 5 citations

Classic psychedelics are able to profoundly alter the state of consciousness and lead to acute experiences of ego dissolution - the blurring of the distinction between representations of self and the external world. However, whether repeated use of psychedelics is associated with more prolonged and permanent modifications to the concept of self remains to be investigated. Therefore, we...

DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14583 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) P300 Electroencephalography EEG Psychedelics Self‐perception

Processing of self-related thoughts in experienced users of classic psychedelics and non-users: a source localisation EEG study

February 3, 2024 Anastasia Ruban, Mikołaj Magnuski, Justyna Hobot et al. 1 citation preprint

Psychedelics have gained increasing interest in scientific research due to their ability to induce profound alterations in perception, emotional processing and self-consciousness. However, the research regarding the short- and long-term impact of using psychedelics in non-controlled, naturalistic contexts remains limited. Here we aim to fill this gap and explore differences between naturalistic...

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/bhmtn (opens in new tab) Electroencephalography Cognitive psychology

Naturalistic use of psychedelics does not modulate processing of self-related stimuli (but it might modulate attentional mechanisms): an event-related potentials study comparing non-users and experienced users of classic psychedelics

December 28, 2023 Paweł Orłowski, Justyna Hobot, Anastasia Ruban et al. 1 citation preprint

Classic psychedelics are able to profoundly alter the state of consciousness and lead to acute experiences of ego dissolution – the blurring of the distinction between representations of self and the external world. However, whether repeated use of psychedelics is associated with more prolonged and permanent modifications to the concept of self remains to be investigated. Therefore, we...

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/pw8sm (opens in new tab) Stimulus psychology Event-related potential Cognitive psychology Perception +1

The relation between naturalistic use of psychedelics and perception of emotional stimuli: An ERP study comparing non-users and experienced users of classic psychedelics

October 9, 2023 Paweł Orłowski, Justyna Hobot, Anastasia Ruban et al. preprint

Previous research indicates that psychedelic substances taken in well-controlled laboratory or therapeutic settings have the potential to decrease negative and increase positive emotional reactivity. However, it is unclear whether similar effects are associated with using psychedelics in less-controlled naturalistic environments. Therefore, in the present study we compared neural markers of...

DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/uzwa3 (opens in new tab) Sadness Event-related potential Reactivity psychology Anger +5

Sensory modality defines the relation between EEG Lempel–Ziv diversity and meaningfulness of a stimulus

Scientific Reports March 1, 2023 Paweł Orłowski, Michał Bola 9 citations

Diversity of brain activity is a robust neural correlate of global states of consciousness. It has been proposed that diversity measures specifically reflect the temporal variability of conscious experience. Previous studies supported this hypothesis by showing that perception of meaningful visual stimuli causes richer, more-variable experiences than perception of meaningless stimuli, and this...

Naturalistic use of psychedelics is related to emotional reactivity and self-consciousness: The mediating role of ego-dissolution and mystical experiences

Journal of Psychopharmacology August 1, 2022 Paweł Orłowski, Anastasia Ruban, Jan Szczypiński et al. 40 citations

Background: Psychedelics are able to acutely alter emotional reactivity and self-consciousness. However, whether the regular naturalistic use of psychedelics can be linked to more persistent trait-level changes in these domains remains an open question. Aim: To test the hypotheses that (1) using psychedelics is related to higher positive and lower negative emotional reactivity; and (2) an...

DOI: 10.1177/02698811221089034 (opens in new tab) Ego death Psychedelics: psychedelic substances Hallucinogens Entheogens +9

Psychedelics use predicts more positive emotional reactivity and diminished outward-focused self-consciousness: the mediating role of ego dissolution and mystical experiences

September 23, 2021 Paweł Orłowski, Anastasia Ruban, Jan Szczypiński et al. preprint

Background: Psychedelics are able to acutely alter emotional reactivity and self-consciousness. However, whether regular, naturalistic use of psychedelics can be linked to more persistent, trait-level changes in these domains remains an open question.Aim: To test three hypotheses: i) psychedelics use is related to higher positive and lower negative emotional reactivity; ii) psychedelics use is...

EEG signal diversity during propofol sedation: an increase in sedated but responsive, a decrease in sedated and unresponsive subjects

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 16, 2018 Michał Bola, Paweł Orłowski, Martyna Beata Płomecka et al. 2 citations preprint

Abstract Transitions between wakefulness and anesthesia are accompanied by profound changes in brain functioning. A key challenge is thus to disentangle neuronal mechanisms specific to loss and recovery of consciousness, from more general effects that are not directly related to the capacity for conscious experience. Measures of neuronal diversity have been recently proposed to constitute a...

Informativeness of Auditory Stimuli Does Not Affect EEG Signal Diversity.

Frontiers in Psychology 2018 Michał Bola, Paweł Orłowski, Karolina Baranowska et al. 11 citations

Brain signal diversity constitutes a robust neuronal marker of the global states of consciousness. It has been demonstrated that, in comparison to the resting wakefulness, signal diversity is lower during unconscious states, and higher during psychedelic states. A plausible interpretation of these findings is that the neuronal diversity corresponds to the diversity of subjective conscious...

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01820 (opens in new tab) Full text (opens in new tab) EEG Lempel-ziv complexity Consciousness Resting-state +2