Increases in aesthetic experience following ayahuasca use: An open-label, naturalistic study

Jacob S. Aday; Emily K. Bloesch; Alan K. Davis; Sarah E. Domoff; Kyle C Scherr; Joshua Woolley; Christopher C. Davoli

doi:10.31234/osf.io/gd8h2

Increases in aesthetic experience following ayahuasca use: An open-label, naturalistic study

Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, Alan K. Davis, Sarah E. Domoff, Kyle C Scherr, Joshua Woolley, Christopher C. Davoli

May 15, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/gd8h2 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Open-label longitudinal study
Sample size	54
Population	Adults attending an ayahuasca retreat center
Intervention	Ayahuasca
Duration	One-month follow-up
Topics	Ayahuasca Mysticism
Keywords	Perception Psychotherapist Clinical psychology
Citations	3
Key findings	Participants showed increased levels of aesthetic experience at one-week and one-month follow-ups compared to baseline, and acute drug effects did not predict this change.

Abstract

Psychedelic drugs are currently being investigated for their potential to facilitate a variety of long-lasting psychological changes. One area of psychological functioning that has yet to be systematically investigated in psychedelic research regards aesthetic experiences. This is surprising given the notable acute changes in perception induced by the drugs as well as the wealth of anecdotal reports of individuals reporting increased engagement in aesthetic experiences after psychedelic use. The current study was designed to address this gap in the literature by administering a validated measure of aesthetic experience one-week before, one-week after, and one-month after participants (N = 54) attended an ayahuasca retreat center. Participants also completed surveys indexing the extent to which they endorsed mystical-type experiences, awe, and ego dissolution during their ayahuasca sessions to identify potential predictors of long-term change. We found that compared to baseline, participants exhibited increased levels of aesthetic experience at both follow-ups. Measures of acute drug effects did not predict changes in aesthetic experience. Although the study was limited by an open-label design, the results support anecdotal reports regarding changes in aesthetic experience after psychedelic use and provide important groundwork for future study.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on ayahuasca, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design	Participants
Antidepressant Effects of a Single Dose of Ayahuasca in Patients With Recurrent Depression Patients with recurrent depression	2015	Open-label trial	n = 17
Assessing the Psychedelic “After-Glow” in Ayahuasca Users: Post-Acute Neurometabolic and Functional Connectivity Changes Are Associated with Enhanced Mindfulness Capacities Healthy volunteers	2017	Open-label uncontrolled study	n = 16
Rapid and sustained decreases in suicidality following a single dose of ayahuasca among individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder: results from an open-label trial. Individuals with recurrent major depressive disorder	2021	Open-label trial (secondary analysis)	n = 17
Pilot Evaluation of a Residential Drug Addiction Treatment Combining Traditional Amazonian Medicine, Ayahuasca and Psychotherapy on Depression and Anxiety Male patients in an inpatient addiction treatment program	2020	Pre-post observational study	n = 31
Long-term effects of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a 5-year qualitative follow-up Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder who had participated in an...	2018	Long-term follow-up of an open-label trial	n = 8

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