Defining ‘psychedelic’
Avery Ostrand, Matthew M. Nour, Christopher Timmermann, Andrea Rosati, Lisa Luan, Andrés Gómez-Emilsson, Julia Bornemann, Kyle T. Greenway, Leor Roseman, Robin Carhart-Harris
December 4, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/5ybhk_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Survey with factor analysis and machine learning classification |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 200 |
| Population | Participants with personal experiences of psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA |
| Topics | MDMA Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Feeling Adjective Paranormal Extrasensory perception Hallucinogen Experimental psychology Cognitive psychology Vision |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA produce categorically distinct subjective effects: psilocybin induces visions and psychological insight, ketamine induces dissociation, and MDMA induces pro-social feelings such as love. |
Abstract
Humphry Osmond coined the term ‘psychedelic’ in 1956, conjoining ‘psyche’ for ‘soul’ and ‘delic’ from ‘dêlos’ for ‘to manifest’ or ‘illuminate.’ Soul-illumination is an adjective that describes a psychological state or process. However, Osmond’s intention was to use the adjective to name— not just a state— but a category of drug that can induce the subjective effect as its principal action; thus, when used in this way, psychedelic becomes a ‘nominalized adjective;’ describing a ‘thing’ (i.e., a drug) that can induce the described state. Consistent with the etymology of psychedelic, the present work is guided by phenomenology, recognizing its fundamental ontology. Accordingly, we examine the main subjective effect of three different psychoactive drugs, psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA (variable label, Drug). Over two-hundred participants rated Delphi-derived subjective rating scale items based on their personal experiences with all three drugs. Factor analyses revealed 3 or 4 sufficiently independent dimensions of subjective experience (variable label, Effects). A machine learning classifier successfully predicted Drug from Effects, validating the hypothesis that psilocybin, ketamine and MDMA are categorically distinct as determined by their differential ability to induce the following Effects: 1) visions and psychological insight (psilocybin), 2) dissociation (ketamine) and 3) pro-social feelings, epitomized by feelings of love (MDMA). We conclude that psilocybin is an exemplar psychedelic drug— a category of drug definable by the induction of a psychedelic state— the quintessential psychedelic phenomenon. This state is characterized by visions and psychological insight.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreational MDMA use in Sydney: a profile of ‘Ecstasy’ users and their experiences with the drug Recreational Ecstasy users recruited via snowball peer network | 1992 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 100 |
| 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 |
| Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students Drug-using university students | 2006 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 149 |
| Patterns of recreational drug use at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland Drug users at dance events in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, aged 16-47, 80% between 18 and... | 2001 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 122 |
| Acute, sub‐acute and long‐term subjective consequences of ‘ecstasy’ (MDMA) consumption in 430 regular users Regular MDMA users | 2003 | Cross-sectional study | n = 466 |