Longitudinal neural and psychological changes following psilocybin under compassion imagery priming
Carla Pallavicini, Lorena Llobenes, Federico Cavanna, Laura Alethia de la Fuente, Stephanie Müller, María Costa, Natali Gumiy, Nicolás Bruno, Tomas D'Amelio, Jaskaran Basran, Ptarmigan Plowright, Federico Zamberlán, Guillermo Pasqualetti, Ain Stolkiner, Mauro Namías, Paul Gilbert, Enzo Tagliazucchi
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience July 22, 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2026.1874178 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 105 |
| Population | Naturalistic sample of participants receiving psilocybin |
| Interventions | Psilocybin Compassion imagery priming |
| Measures | Absorption, Decentering, Self-compassion, fMRI functional connectivity |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key findings | Psilocybin was associated with sustained increases in absorption, particularly in the high-dose compassion imagery condition, along with increases in decentering and self-compassion. fMRI classifiers distinguished between priming conditions only in the high-dose group, suggesting contextual priming may modulate psychological and neural effects. |
Abstract
Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic known to alter subjective experience and induce lasting psychological changes, including increased cognitive flexibility and reduced rigid self-related beliefs. Contextual factors, including preparatory mental states, are thought to play a key role in shaping these effects. Compassion imagery, which engages care-affiliative motivational systems, may represent a promising priming approach in this context. Here, we investigated the neural and psychological effects of psilocybin under compassion imagery priming using self-report questionnaires and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a naturalistic sample of 105 participants. Participants were primed with either compassion imagery or attention to breathing prior to psilocybin intake. We observed sustained increases in absorption over time, particularly in the high-dose compassion imagery condition. Additional within-group increases were found in measures of decentering and self-compassion. Using functional connectivity features, fMRI-based classifiers distinguished between resting state and compassion imagery conditions prior to intake, and between priming conditions following psilocybin, with significant classification performance observed only in the high-dose group. These findings suggest that psilocybin is associated with lasting changes in absorption and may be modulated by contextual priming to shape both psychological outcomes and large-scale brain network dynamics. More generally, our results highlight the potential role of compassion-based practices as preparatory interventions in psychedelic contexts. Future confirmatory studies are needed to further characterize these effects and their underlying mechanisms.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels Healthy volunteers | 2019 | Observational cohort | n = 8 |
| Increased spontaneous MEG signal diversity for psychoactive doses of ketamine, LSD and psilocybin Humans | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. USA adult respondents from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2012) | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 190,000 |
| Prediction of Psilocybin Response in Healthy Volunteers Healthy volunteers | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 409 |
Citations in the library
Cites 54
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- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
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