Observing the mind under psychedelics: conceptual metaphors used following four once-weekly macrodoses of psilocybin
Eric Rundquist, Diego Nicolás Monasterio López, Juan Jonathan Oyarzo Alvarado, Robin Carhart-Harris, Lorenzo Pasquini, Erin Vinson, Manesh Girn, Avery Ostrand, Kate Allison, Hannes Kettner, Catriona S. Miller, Sydney Griffith, Adam Gazzaley, Andrea Rosati, Jennifer Mitchell
Philosophical Psychology April 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2026.2657452 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Single healthy volunteer |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | moderate-to-high |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Cognition Hallucinogen Conceptual metaphor Cognitive science Cognitive psychology Epistemology |
| Key findings | Metaphors used by the participant after psilocybin sessions consistently frame abstract introspective events in terms of concrete, visible, and interpersonal events, instantiating the Observer's Model and implying cognitive defusion and heightened metacognitive awareness. |
Abstract
This article presents the results of a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of metaphors used in a series of interviews by a single healthy volunteer following four moderate-to-high dosing sessions with psilocybin. The interviews were conducted by members of a human psychedelic research lab in a deep-sampling fMRI and EEG brain imaging study, allowing the participant to recount experiences under the effects of the compound. The goal of this case analysis is to make theoretically informed inferences about the participant’s cognitive-phenomenal processes during the interviews and the psychedelic experiences. To this end, we use Conceptual Metaphor Theory to explain how the participant consistently uses metaphors that frame abstract introspective events in terms of more concrete, visible and interpersonal events. This instantiates a cognitive frame that is known as the Observer’s Model. The metaphor themes we identify also imply a recurring sense of cognitive defusion and heightened metacognitive awareness during the psilocybin sessions. Moreover, we find that literal descriptions of hallucinatory visual experiences correlate semantically with metaphorical expressions, suggesting that metaphorical thinking plays a role in motivating those experiences. We link these linguistic-analytical results to neuroscientific findings about psychedelics and explore psychological and therapeutic implications.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin Mushroom (Psilocybe semilanceata) Intoxication with Myocardial Infarction 18-year-old man | 1998 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Relief from intractable phantom pain by combining psilocybin and mirror visual-feedback (MVF) Person with leg amputation and phantom-limb pain | 2018 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder after psilocybin consumption: a case study 18-year-old man with HPPD after mixed psilocybin and cannabis intoxication | 2005 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Microdosing psilocybin for chronic pain: a case series Individuals with chronic neuropathic pain | 2022 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Psilocybin and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | 2014 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cites 19
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 1, 2019
- Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences March 28, 2023
- LSD-Assisted Psychotherapy in Patients with Terminal Cancer International Pharmacopsychiatry 1973
and 14 more in the library