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Broadening Your Mind to Include Others: The relationship between serotonergic psychedelic experiences and maladaptive narcissism.

Valerie van Mulukom, Ruairi E Patterson, Michiel van Elk

Psychopharmacology September 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05568-y (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Preregistered Peer reviewed
Sample size 414
Population Adults reporting a recent classical serotonergic psychedelic experience
Topics Serotonin
Keywords Awe Connectedness Ego Empathy Narcissism Personality Psychedelics
Citations 61
Key findings Awe during CSP experiences, but not ego dissolution, was associated with increased connectedness and empathy, which in turn were associated with lower exploitative-entitled narcissism.

Abstract

Recent research has shown that classical serotonergic psychedelic (CSP) drugs may be used to ameliorate certain health issues and disorders. Here we hypothesised that CSP experiences, through their ability to induce awe and ego-dissolution, may result in a reduction of maladaptive narcissistic personality traits, such as a strong sense of entitlement and lack of empathy. Our objective was to investigate whether high levels of awe and ego dissolution during recent CSP experiences are associated with currently lower levels of maladaptive narcissism. In this pre-registered high-powered (N = 414) study, we used an online retrospective survey asking participants to describe their 'most awe-inspiring, impressive, significant, or emotionally intense experience', as well as several validated scales to test our hypothesis. A statistically significant mediation model indicated that recent CSP-induced experiences were associated with currently increased feelings of connectedness and affective empathetic drive, which in turn were associated with decreased exploitative-entitled narcissism. This relationship held even when taking into account sensation-seeking personality features. We found no evidence for feelings of ego dissolution to have the same effect. Feelings of awe, but not ego dissolution, during recent CSP experiences were associated with increased feelings of connectedness and empathy, which in turn were associated with decreased levels of maladaptive narcissism personality features. This suggests that CSPs hold therapeutic potential for disorders involving connectedness and empathy, such as the treatment of pathological narcissism, and that the induction of connectedness through awe appears to be the driving force behind this potential.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on serotonin, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Reducedin vivobinding to the serotonin transporter in the cerebral cortex of MDMA (‘ecstasy’) users Male regular ecstasy users and well-matched controls 1999 Cross-sectional association study n = 20
Cerebral1H MRS alterations in recreational 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ?ecstasy?) users Recreational MDMA users and normal subjects 1999 Cross-sectional study n = 59
Evidence for a common biological basis of the absorption trait, hallucinogen effects, and positive symptoms: Epistasis between 5-HT2a and COMT polymorphisms 95 male and 241 female subjects 2005 Cross-sectional genetic association study n = 336
Recreational use of psychedelics is associated with elevated personality trait openness: Exploration of associations with brain serotonin markers. 10 psychedelic-preferring recreational users, 14 MDMA-preferring users, and 21... 2019 Cross-sectional observational study n = 45
In Vivo Imaging of Cerebral Serotonin Transporter and Serotonin2A Receptor Binding in 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) and Hallucinogen Users 2011 Cross-sectional study

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