How does it feel to be on psilocybin? Dose-response relationships of subjective experiences in humans
Tim Hirschfeld, Timo Torsten Schmidt
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) June 11, 2020 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.06.09.142802 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthy study participants |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Clinical psychology Rating scale |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Ratings on most dimensions and subscales of the included questionnaires correlated positively with psilocybin dose. |
Abstract
Abstract Psilocybin is the active component of magic mushrooms and is well known for its psychoactive properties. Different questionnaires have been developed to systematically quantify altered states of consciousness induced by psychoactive drugs. The aim of this study was to obtain the dose-response relationships of the subjective experiences induced by psilocybin in healthy study participants. For this purpose, we applied a linear meta-regression approach on questionnaire ratings after oral administration of psilocybin in a controlled setting. Data was obtained from The Altered States Database, which contains psychometric data extracted from peer-reviewed articles published in MEDLINE-listed journals that used standardized and validated questionnaires. Our meta-analysis included data of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30), and the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS). We used the Robust Variance Estimation Framework to obtain linear dose-response relationship estimates for each dimension of the given questionnaires. Ratings on most dimensions and subscales of the included questionnaires correlated positively with dose. Since subjective experiences are not only determined by dose, but also by individual differences and environmental factors, our results do not necessarily generalize to recreational use, as our analyses are based on data from controlled laboratory experiments. The paper at hand could serve as a general literature citation for the use of psilocybin in experimental and clinical research, especially for the comparison of expected and observed subjective drug experiences.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Therapeutic effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review of modern‐era clinical studies Patients with cancer- or illness-related anxiety and depression, major depressive... | 2020 | Systematic review | n = 188 |
| Blinding and expectancy confounds in psychedelic randomized controlled trials | 2021 | Systematic review | |
| Antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects of ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): a systematic review of clinical trials published in the last 25 years Patients from included clinical trials | 2016 | Systematic review | |
| The experimental effects of psilocybin on symptoms of anxiety and depression: A meta-analysis People with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression | 2020 | Meta-analysis | n = 117 |
| Default Mode Network Modulation by Psychedelics: A Systematic Review Participants from included studies | 2022 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Neural Mechanisms and Psychology of Psychedelic Ego Dissolution Pharmacological Reviews September 9, 2022
- The psychedelic afterglow phenomenon: a systematic review of subacute effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 2023
- Body mass index (BMI) does not predict responses to psilocybin Journal of Psychopharmacology November 14, 2022
- Phenomenology of Psychedelic Experiences and Psychedelic-Associated Distressing Effects: Quantifying Subjective Experiences. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences December 31, 2024
- Effective connectivity of emotion and cognition under psilocybin medRxiv September 9, 2022
and 2 more in the library
Cites 64
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer Archives of General Psychiatry September 7, 2010
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
and 59 more in the library