Psilocybin and Contrasting Musical Compositions: Effects on Music-Evoked Emotional Responses in Healthy Adults
Dominika Dojčánová, Filip Tylš, Marek Nikolič, Tomáš Novák, Vojtěch Viktorin, Anna Bravermanová, Michaela Viktorinová, Renáta Androvičová, Veronika Andrashko, Jakub Korčák, Peter Zach, Jiřı́ Horáček, Martin Brunovský, Tomáš Páleníček
medRxiv September 23, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.09.09.26362648 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Double-blind, placebo-controlled experimental study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Healthy volunteers |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | 0.26 mg/kg |
| Measures | visual analogue scale (VAS), Geneva Emotional Music Scale (GEMS-9) |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key findings | Psilocybin increased wonder, transcendence, and joyful activation across both a classical and a psytrance composition. The classical piece elicited greater peacefulness, tenderness, and nostalgia, while the psytrance piece elicited greater tension, in both conditions. A composition-by-condition interaction appeared for sadness: psilocybin increased sadness during the classical piece and decreased it during the psytrance piece. The authors suggest psilocybin and musical composition independently influence different aspects of music-evoked emotion, with limited interaction. |
Abstract
Music is a central component of psychedelic settings, yet little experimental work has examined how psilocybin and musical composition influence music-evoked emotional responses in healthy volunteers. This exploratory, double-blind, placebo-controlled study assessed these effects during the plateau phase of psilocybin and the corresponding time window in placebo sessions following oral administration of psilocybin (0.26 mg/kg) or placebo. The study consisted of two parts. In Part 1 (n = 19), a pilot stage, the first half of participants rated music-induced affective valence for eight compositions representing different genres/subgenres (Rock/Punk, Metal/Industrial Metal, Metal/Industrial Metal, Classical/Baroque, Electronic/Dub, Folk/Nordic Folk, Electronic/Techno, Electronic/Trance, Electronic/Psytrance) using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Based on Part 1, the classical composition with the highest overall affective valence and the psytrance composition with the largest psilocybin-placebo contrast (i.e., the composition most responsive to psilocybin) were selected for Part 2 (n = 17), in which the second half of participants assessed emotional responses to music using the Geneva Emotional Music Scale (GEMS-9). Psilocybin increased wonder, transcendence, and joyful activation across both contrasting compositions. Relative to each other, the classical composition elicited greater peacefulness, tenderness, and nostalgia, whereas the psytrance composition elicited greater tension across both psilocybin and placebo conditions. A composition x condition interaction was observed for sadness: under psilocybin, sadness increased during the classical composition and decreased during the psytrance composition. These findings suggest that psilocybin and contrasting musical compositions independently influence different aspects of music-evoked emotional responses, with limited interaction effects, and point to potential implications for protocol design and music selection in psychedelic settings.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Cancer patients with life-threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety | 2016 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 51 |
| Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression | 2016 | Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial | n = 29 |
| Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual... | 2006 | Double-blind study | n = 36 |
| Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression Selected group of patients with depression | 2021 | Randomized controlled trial | |
| Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder Adults aged 21 to 75 years with major depressive disorder, not currently using... | 2020 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 24 |