Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 9, 2026
Noah N T Barr, Briony Larance, Matthew J. Schweickle et al.
Abstract Background and aims Increased connectedness has been proposed as one mechanism through which psychedelics might reduce death anxiety. This study examined whether changes in connectedness—across intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal domains—were associated with changes in death anxiety following a significant psychedelic experience. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional...
Psychopharmacology
April 21, 2025
Noah N T Barr, Kayla J Giese, Sam G. Moreton
1 citation
Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic experiences have the potential to change attitudes towards death and reduce death anxiety. Improved attitudes towards death, specifically reduced death anxiety, are of psychological significance for clinical and non-clinical populations alike. Despite this emerging evidence, little is known about the phenomenology of this potential outcome. To provide...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 12, 2025
Will Olteanu, Sam G. Moreton
5 citations
There has been growing interest in understanding the psychological effects of psychedelic experiences, including their potential to catalyze significant shifts in moral cognition. This retrospective study examines how meaningful psychedelic experiences are related to changes in moral expansiveness and investigates the role of acute subjective effects as predictors of these changes. We found...
Death Studies
2025
Sam G. Moreton, Noah N T Barr, Kayla J Giese
14 citations
Research examining the potential of the psychedelic experience to alter attitudes toward death is steadily emerging. However, the specific mechanisms leading to this change are not well understood. The present study investigated the potential relationship between changes in metaphysical beliefs and changes in death anxiety following a single significant psychedelic experience. A total of 155...
Death Studies
February 2, 2023
Sam G. Moreton, Andrew F. Arena, Yolanda Foy et al.
19 citations
Research over the past several decades suggests that meaningful psychedelic experiences can engender long-term effects on subjective wellbeing. However, less research has investigated the psychological mechanisms through which these effects may emerge. In the present study, participants (N = 201) completed an online survey that retrospectively measured the acute effects of a meaningful...
Ecopsychology
September 27, 2022
Katie Newton, Sam G. Moreton
Emerging research suggests that the use of serotonergic psychedelics may increase feelings of connection with the natural world. However, little is known about why this might be the case. Psychedelics often elicit self-transcendent positive emotions (STPE), and recent work has provided preliminary evidence suggesting that several of these emotions may have a causal influence on people's...
Psychopharmacology
November 29, 2019
Sam G. Moreton, Luke Szalla, Rachel E. Menzies et al.
77 citations
Psychedelic therapies can engender enduring improvements in psychological well-being. However, relatively little is known about the psychological mechanisms through which the salutary effects of psychedelics emerge. Through integrating extant research on psychedelics with contemporary existential psychology, we present a novel hypothesis that reduced death anxiety may be a key mechanism...