Predicting the Intensity of Psychedelic-Induced Mystical and Challenging Experience in a Healthy Population: An Exploratory Post-Hoc Analysis.
Kwonmok Ko, Ben Carter, Anthony J. Cleare, James J Rucker
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2023 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s426193 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Placebo-controlled Double-blind Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 89 |
| Population | Healthy volunteers |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | 10 mg, 25 mg |
| Topics | Mystical experience Psilocybin Psychedelic-assisted therapy |
| Keywords | Challenging experience Mystical experiences Psilocybin research Adverse reactions Age factors |
| Citations | 26 |
| Key findings | Higher psilocybin dosage strongly predicted greater intensity of both mystical and challenging experiences, and age was negatively correlated with challenging experience intensity. |
Abstract
In psychedelic therapy, mystical as well as challenging experience may influence therapeutic outcome. However, predictors of such experience have not been sufficiently established. Determining predictors of their intensity is, therefore, potentially beneficial in targeting psilocybin therapy for depression. In a post hoc data analysis of a Phase 1, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-groups clinical trial, dosage, personality traits, affect, and individual data were analysed as possible clinical predictors. Eighty-nine healthy volunteers were randomised to receive a single dose of placebo, 10 mg of psilocybin, or 25 mg of psilocybin. ANOVA was used to analyse the relationship between dosage and mystical and/or challenging experience, and correlation analysis for all other variables. The intensity of both mystical and challenging experience was strongly associated with higher dosage. Age was negatively correlated with intensity of challenging experience. Correlation between identified personality traits and either mystical or challenging experience was minimal, with the exception of positive correlation between neuroticism and challenging experience at higher dose. Neither positive nor negative affect indicated correlation with the intensity of either type of experience. A limitation of this study is its post hoc, exploratory design; recommendations for further research are provided.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on psilocybin and psychedelic-assisted therapy, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Healthy adults, mostly hallucinogen-naïve | 2011 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 18 |
| Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder Adults aged 25–65 with DSM-IV alcohol dependence and at least 4 heavy drinking days in... | 2022 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 95 |
| Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression. Patients with treatment-resistant depression and patients with major depressive disorder | 2022 | Open-label trial and double-blind phase II randomized controlled trial | |
| Single-dose psilocybin-assisted therapy in major depressive disorder: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised clinical trial. Adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder and no unstable somatic conditions | 2023 | Double-blind, randomised clinical trial | n = 52 |
| Implications for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: functional magnetic resonance imaging study with psilocybin Healthy participants | 2012 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 10 |