Abstract Psychiatric trials typically define success as symptom reduction, yet patients prioritize meaning, vitality, and functioning. This imbalance undervalues experiential benefits, distorting clinical, policy, and FDA decisions. Psychedelic trials illustrate this, where robust well-being gains sometimes accompany modest symptom effects. We argue well-being should be elevated to co-primary...
First-line dictionary definitions of ‘plasticity’ describe it as the ability (of a thing) to be shaped or molded; we call this ‘plasticity proper’. In neuroscience, however, ‘neural plasticity’ or ‘neuroplasticity’ is defined as an induced change in brain function or structure. These two plasticities are not the same. Several (but not all) popular biomarkers of neuroplasticity index part of an...
Psychedelics have robust effects on acute brain function and long-term behavior but whether they also cause enduring functional and anatomical brain changes is largely unknown. In an exploratory, placebo-controlled, within-subjects, electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in 28 healthy, entirely psychedelic-naive participants, anatomical and functional brain...
Previous research suggests that psychedelics may, under certain conditions, decrease authoritarian attitudes, but larger and more rigorously designed studies are needed to confirm these findings. We aimed to examine the effects of psychedelic use on authoritarian attitudes. Using data from three separate studies with different designs and populations, we investigated the relationship between...
Philosophical PsychologyApril 10, 2026Eric Rundquist, Diego Nicolás Monasterio López, Juan Jonathan Oyarzo Alvarado et al.
This article presents the results of a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of metaphors used in a series of interviews by a single healthy volunteer following four moderate-to-high dosing sessions with psilocybin. The interviews were conducted by members of a human psychedelic research lab in a deep-sampling fMRI and EEG brain imaging study, allowing the participant to recount experiences under the...
BACKGROUND: The quality and valence of psychedelic experiences are influenced by a range of psychological and contextual factors. This study examines baseline mood and the "relational triad"-comprising social connectedness, mindfulness, and spirituality-as potential predictors of the quality of naturalistic psychedelic experiences. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Predicting Responses to...
Background:Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to contribute to mental health issues and interfere with response to mental health interventions. Psychedelics have been found to improve mental health outcomes; however, the exploration of the effects of psychedelics on mental health in those with higher ACEs remains limited. The present study aimed to examine mental health outcomes and...
Although research shows that psychedelic use may lead to improvement in mental health and well-being, the underlying changes in psychological predictors associated with these improvements remain unclear. 161 participants were recruited in a prospective online survey assessing naturalistic psychedelic use. We used lasso regression to assess how 19 distinct changes in psychological variables...
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Abstract Background: Psychedelics can acutely induce mystical experiences and elevated positive mood, which may contribute to the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy. However, there remains limited understanding of the occurrence and importance of specific positive emotional experiences within psychedelic therapy. Therefore, we examined the effects of psychedelics on positive emotional...
Introduction Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, has shown therapeutic potential in treating mental health disorders by, amongst the many effects, promoting neuroplasticity and reorganising functional connectivity across cortical and subcortical networks involved in emotion and cognition. Veterans with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) often experience chronic neurological and psychological...
Abstract Background : Military veterans are at risk of various mental health conditions, with profound implications for post‐deployment quality of life. Current treatment options encounter high dropout rates and non‐responsiveness, and overlook the importance of community building in veterans’ holistic recovery. Preliminary research suggests psychedelics offer therapeutic benefits for...
Psychedelic research has traditionally focused on controlled, clinical settings to evaluate the therapeutic potential of substances such as psilocybin. However, in recent years, there has been growing interest in naturalistic research, which explores psychedelic use in real-world settings. This review aims to critically analyze trends in naturalistic psychedelic research, focusing on sample...
Introduction Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, are increasingly recognized for their propensity to elicit powerful subjective experiences that carry personal meaning. While research has demonstrated the capacity for these compounds to promote psychological wellbeing, it has yet to be shown to what extent they modulate "meaning in life", a specific contributor to mental and physical health....
Psychedelic substances exhibit complex interactions with the 'set and setting' of use, that is, the mental state of the user and the environment in which a psychedelic experience takes place. Despite these contextual variables' known importance, psychedelic research has lacked methodological rigor in reporting extra-pharmacological factors. This study aimed to generate consensus-based...
Abstract N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic, known to rapidly induce short-lasting alterations in conscious experience, characterized by a profound and immersive sense of physical transcendence alongside rich and vivid auditory distortions and visual imagery. Multimodal neuroimaging data paired with dynamic analysis techniques offer a valuable approach for identifying...
Interest in using psychedelic drugs to treat psychiatric disorders is growing rapidly. While modern controlled clinical trials show a favorable safety and efficacy profile, it remains unclear if the risk of side effects would increase with broader use in more heterogeneous populations. To address this, we investigated the frequency and baseline predictors of delusional ideation, magical...
Psilocybin (a psychoactive compound found in "magic mushrooms" or "shrooms") has been gaining increased attention in research and popular culture as a number of clinical and observational studies have demonstrated that it may have potential for improving mental wellbeing. Relatedly, there has been a substantial uptick in naturalistic (e.g., real-world, non-clinical) psilocybin use in the United...
The Relaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) model proposes that serotonergic psychedelics decrease the precision weighting of neurobiologically-encoded beliefs. We conducted a preliminary examination of two psychological assumptions of REBUS: (a) psychedelics foster acute relaxation and post-acute revision of confidence in mental-health-relevant beliefs; which (b) facilitate positive...
Abstract Purpose of the study Psilocybin is a rapidly-emerging treatment for depression, yet its impact on sleep is not well understood. We sought to explore the literature on sleep and psilocybin use, and explore the topic using our own primary data. Findings Whilst clinical trials demonstrate large depressive symptom improvements, the impact of psilocybin on sleep quality or insomnia...
Abstract Background: Personality disorders (PDs) are characterized by impairments in psychological functioning for which pharmacologic treatments have demonstrated limited efficacy. Psychedelics may offer a possible PD treatment, given preliminary evidence for their potential long-term positive effects on psychological functioning. However, little is known about safety or potential therapeutic...
Abstract Background Access to psychedelic drugs is liberalizing, yet responses are highly unpredictable. It is therefore imperative that we improve our ability to predict the nature of the acute psychedelic experience to improve safety and optimize potential therapeutic outcomes. This study sought to validate the ‘Imperial Psychedelic Predictor Scale’ (IPPS), a short, widely applicable,...
Recent clinical trials have found that the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin effectively alleviates anxiodepressive symptoms in patients with life-threatening illnesses when given in a supportive environment. These outcomes prompted Canada to establish legal pathways for therapeutic access to psilocybin, coupled with psychological support. Despite over one-hundred Canadians receiving...
This study aimed to investigate differences in long-term psychological effects, acute subjective effects, and side effects associated with psychedelic use in adolescents (aged 16–24), compared with adults (aged 25+). Data from two observational online survey cohorts was pooled, involving adolescents (average age 20.4 ± 2.2, N = 435) and adults (average age 36.5 ± 9.7, range = 25–71, N = 654)...
OBJECTIVE: Affective symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, and loneliness are prevalent and highly debilitating symptoms among older adults (OA). Serotonergic psychedelics are currently investigated as novel interventions for affective disorders, yet little is known regarding their effects in OA. We investigated the mental health effects and psychological mechanisms of guided psychedelic group...