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Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin.

Frederick S. Barrett, Manoj K. Doss, Nathan D. Sepeda, James J Pekar, Roland R. Griffiths

Scientific Reports February 10, 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59282-y (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Open-label pilot study Peer reviewed
Sample size 12
Population Healthy volunteers (7 female, 5 male)
Intervention Psilocybin
Dose 25 mg/70 kg
Duration 1-month follow-up
Topics Anxiety Neuroplasticity Psilocybin
Keywords Psychedelics Mood Emotional well-being Affect Psychological health Brain changes Brain connectivity Therapeutic potential Therapy Clinical applications Medical use Mental health treatment
Citations 375
Key points Psilocybin reduced negative affect and amygdala reactivity at one week, with lasting increases in positive affect and brain connectivity at one month.

Abstract

Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic compound that may have efficacy for the treatment of mood and substance use disorders. Acute psilocybin effects include reduced negative mood, increased positive mood, and reduced amygdala response to negative affective stimuli. However, no study has investigated the long-term, enduring impact of psilocybin on negative affect and associated brain function. Twelve healthy volunteers (7F/5M) completed an open-label pilot study including assessments 1-day before, 1-week after, and 1-month after receiving a 25 mg/70 kg dose of psilocybin to test the hypothesis that psilocybin administration leads to enduring changes in affect and neural correlates of affect. One-week post-psilocybin, negative affect and amygdala response to facial affect stimuli were reduced, whereas positive affect and dorsal lateral prefrontal and medial orbitofrontal cortex responses to emotionally-conflicting stimuli were increased. One-month post-psilocybin, negative affective and amygdala response to facial affect stimuli returned to baseline levels while positive affect remained elevated, and trait anxiety was reduced. Finally, the number of significant resting-state functional connections across the brain increased from baseline to 1-week and 1-month post-psilocybin. These preliminary findings suggest that psilocybin may increase emotional and brain plasticity, and the reported findings support the hypothesis that negative affect may be a therapeutic target for psilocybin.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for 2 syntheses in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

  • State of the evidence: Psilocybin for anxiety Supports

    A single high dose reduced negative affect and amygdala reactivity at one week and lowered trait anxiety at one month.

    Synthesized

  • State of the evidence: Neuroplasticity Supports

    Psilocybin reduced negative affect and amygdala reactivity at one week, with lasting increases in positive affect and brain connectivity at one month.

    Synthesized

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on psilocybin for anxiety, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Quality of Acute Psychedelic Experience Predicts Therapeutic Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients with treatment-resistant depression 2018 Clinical trial n = 20
Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 2006 Controlled clinical trial
Psilocybin-assisted group therapy for demoralized older long-term AIDS survivor men: An open-label safety and feasibility pilot study Older long-term AIDS survivor (OLTAS) self-identified gay men with moderate-to-severe... 2020 Open-label study
Psilocybin-Assisted Group Therapy and Attachment: Observed Reduction in Attachment Anxiety and Influences of Attachment Insecurity on the Psilocybin Experience Male long-term AIDS survivors with moderate-severe demoralization 2020 Open-label trial n = 18
Group format psychedelic-assisted therapy interventions: Observations and impressions from the HOPE trial Patients with a DSM-5 depressive disorder associated with a cancer diagnosis 2023 Open-label feasibility and safety pilot study

Citations in the library

Cited by 321

and 316 more in the library

Cites 43

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