Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: Immediate and persisting dose-related effects

By Roland R. Griffiths, Matthew W. Johnson, W. A. Richards, Brian D. Richards, U. McCann, R. Jesse. Psychopharmacology, 2011

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RationaleThis dose-effect study extends previous observations showing that psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior.ObjectivesThis double-blind study evaluated psilocybin (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 mg/70 kg, p.o.) administered under supportive conditions.MethodsParticipants were 18 adults (17 hallucinogen-naïve). Five 8-h sessions were conducted individually for each participant at 1-month intervals. Participants were randomized to receive the four active doses in either ascending or descending order (nine participants each). Placebo was scheduled quasi-randomly. During sessions, volunteers used eyeshades and were instructed to direct their attention inward. Volunteers completed questionnaires assessing effects immediately after and 1 month after each session, and at 14 months follow-up.ResultsPsilocybin produced acute perceptual and subjective effects including, at 20 and/or 30 mg/70 kg, extreme anxiety/fear (39% of volunteers) and/or mystical-type experience (72% of volunteers). One month after sessions at the two highest doses, volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal and spiritual significance, and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior, with the ascending dose sequence showing greater positive effects. At 14 months, ratings were undiminished and were consistent with changes rated by community observers. Both the acute and persisting effects of psilocybin were generally a monotonically increasing function of dose, with the lowest dose showing significant effects.ConclusionsUnder supportive conditions, 20 and 30 mg/70 kg psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences having persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior. Implications for therapeutic trials are discussed.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology, Toxicology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b6a466d47ff14211f273622e5d0b584d06253237

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Citations in the corpus

Pilot Study of the 5-HT2AR Agonist Psilocybin in the Treatment of Tobacco Addiction (2014, methodology): “This 145-item questionnaire was designed to measure changes in attitudes, moods, behavior, and spiritual experience, and has demonstrated sensitivity to the intermediate and long-term effects of psilocybin (Griffiths et al., 2008, 2011).”
Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial (2016, background): “Regarding psychiatric AEs, no pharmacological interventions (e.g. benzodiazepines, anti-psychotics) were needed during dosing sessions, no participants abused or became addicted to psilocybin, there were no cases of prolonged psychosis or hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder (HPPD), and no…”
Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity (2018, background): “Classical serotonergic psychedelics are known to cause changes in mood (Grifﬁths et al., 2006, 2008, 2011) and brain function (Carhart-Harris et al., 2017) that persist long after the acute effects of the drugs have subsided.”
Psychedelics (2016, methodology): “A second study using a similar protocol with 18 volunteers examined dose effects of psilocybin, using 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/70 kg (Griffiths et al., 2011).”
Serotonin and brain function: a tale of two receptors (2017, background): “Dose relates to the drug dosage – which may be a critical determinant of state (Griffiths et al., 2011; Nour et al., 2016) – as well as long-term outcomes (Roseman et al., 2017).”
Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study (2015, neutral): “However, subjective response was highly variable among participants in this study, and numerically weaker on average for some of the measures than that reported in normal volunteers at comparable doses (Griffiths et al., 2011).”
Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial (2016, background): “The structured interview (Community Observer Questionnaire) consisted of asking the rater to rate the participant’s behavior and attitudes using a 10-point scale (from 1 = not at all, to 10 = extremely) on 13 items reflecting healthy psychosocial functioning: inner peace; patience; good-natured humo”
Developing Guidelines and Competencies for the Training of Psychedelic Therapists (2017, background): “Other competencies that have been found to be useful are guided affective imagery (Bonny & Pahnke, 1972; Leuner, 1969; Richards, 2015); meditation during integration periods (Griffiths et al., 2011; Watts, 1970); psychoanalysis (Grof, 1968; Naranjo, 2013); the Bonny Method of Guide Imagery and Music”
Mystical Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Lead to Increases in the Personality Domain of Openness (2011, methodology): “The inclusion/exclusion criteria were similar across the two studies, although participants in Study 2 were permitted to have limited prior experience with hallucinogens (Griffiths et al., 2011).”