Recent data on the impact of the psychedelic experience: human laboratory studies
May 17, 2015
Recent data on the impact of the psychedelic experience:
human laboratory studies
Section Overview
We will review findings on the impact of psychedelics on people’s lives as documented in
– Controlled lab studies with healthy participants
– Controlled studies with patients
We will discuss MDMA and neuromechanisms in a separate section
Healthy Participant Studies
Griffiths and colleagues (@ Johns Hopkins) pioneer:– Standard instruments from other fields (e.g.,
Hood scale)– Carefully prepared participants & setting
But does this mystical experience only happen to prepared drug-naïve spiritually inclined people in their lab?
– No
So far impossible to predict who will become very anxious, but dose escalation is better than starting with high dose
Seemingly lasting positive effects, reminiscent of early research on LSD and creativity
(Griffiths, Richards, McCann, Jesse 2006)
How Personally Meaningful was it?
Single Most
Among Top Five
Among Top Ten
Once Every 5 Years
Once a Year
Once a Month
Once a Week
Everyday Experience
PsilocybinMethylphenidate
(Griffiths, Richards, Johnson, McCann, Jesse 2008)
Impact was still undiminished one year later
(Johnson, Richards, Griffiths 2008)
Concern: Are effects due to hard-to-copy experimental conditions?
(Johnson, MacLean, Reissig, Prisinzano, Griffiths 2011)
Mystical-type experiences after Salvinorin A in people NOT chosen for their religious/spiritual
practice
Percent of Maximum
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percept. & Cog. Changes
Dread of Ego DissolutionOceanic Boundlessness
Extrovertive MysticismInterpretive Mysticism
Introvertive Mysticism
Hood Mysticism Scales
ASC Scales
Placebo
Psilocybin (Griffiths et al., 2006)
MDA (Baggott et al., 2010)
Psilocybin (Hasler et al., 2004)
We also see mystical phenomena studying MDA in a hospital
(Griffiths, Johnson, Richards, Richards, McCann, Jesse 2011)
Despite careful preparation, anxiety is often present(30 mg/70 kg Psilocybin)
(Johnson, Sewell, Griffiths 2011)
Shroom Hangover?
(Griffiths, Johnson, Richards, Richards, McCann, Jesse 2011)
Increasing up to a high dose was better tolerated
than starting with a high dose
Well-Being / Life Satisfaction Persisting Positive Mood
(MacLean, Johnson, Griffiths 2011)
Some participants reported increases in personality dimension “Openness” -- changes correlated with ratings of mystical experience
The Big Five Personality Dimensions
(McCrae and Costa 1985)
Openness to Experience
Intellectual, creative, artistic, imaginative, curious, original
Conscientious Organized, systematic, thorough, hardworking, neat, dependable
Extraversion Extroverted, talkative, assertive, gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing
Agreeableness Sympathetic, cooperative, warm, tactful, considerate, trustful
Neuroticism Unenvious, relaxed, calm, stable, confident, effective
The Big Five Personality Dimensions
(McCrae and Costa 1985)
Openness to Experience
Intellectual, creative, artistic, imaginative, curious, original
Conscientious Organized, systematic, thorough, hardworking, neat, dependable
Extraversion Extroverted, talkative, assertive, gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing
Agreeableness Sympathetic, cooperative, warm, tactful, considerate, trustful
Neuroticism Unenvious, relaxed, calm, stable, confident, effective
The Big Five vs. Myers-Briggs
(McCrae and Costa 1985)
Openness to Experience
Sensing-intuition scale (on the ‘N’ side)
Conscientious Judging-Perceiving scale (‘J’ side)
Extraversion Extraversion-Introversion scale (‘E’ side)
Agreeableness Thinking-Feeling scale (‘F’ side)
Neuroticism Not measured by MBTI
The Big Five Personality Dimensions
(McCrae and Costa 1985)
Openness to Experience
Intellectual, creative, artistic, imaginative, curious, original
Conscientious Organized, systematic, thorough, hardworking, neat, dependable
Extraversion Extroverted, talkative, assertive, gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing
Agreeableness Sympathetic, cooperative, warm, tactful, considerate, trustful
Neuroticism Unenvious, relaxed, calm, stable, confident, effective
The Big Five Personality Dimensions
(McCrae and Costa 1985)
Openness to Experience
Intellectual, creative, artistic, imaginative, curious, original
Conscientious Organized, systematic, thorough, hardworking, neat, dependable
Extraversion Extroverted, talkative, assertive, gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing
Agreeableness Sympathetic, cooperative, warm, tactful, considerate, trustful
Neuroticism Unenvious, relaxed, calm, stable, confident, effective
Similar result from early LSD creativity study
McGlothlin, Cohen, McClothlin. “Long lasting effects of LSD on normals”. Arch Gen Psychiat. 1967;17:521-532.
Openness usually doesn't increase much once you're in your 20s
Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A metaanalysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 3–27.
Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A metaanalysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 3–27.
Other aspects of personality improve
ConscientiousnessAgreeableness
Openness to experienceNeuroticism (Scored in reverse)
Patient Studies
Grob and colleagues (2011) conduct a pilot study of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety in terminal cancer patients
– Results suggestive, but not conclusive
Moreno and colleagues (2006) conduct a pilot study of psilocybin for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
– Results even less conclusive
Terminal cancer patients have reduced anxiety after participation in psilocybin study
But lack of a real placebo comparison makes it impossible to say this was due to the psilocybin session
(Grob, Danforth, Chopra, Hagerty, McKay, Halberstadt, Greer, 2011)
Psilocybin-OCD pilot study even less conclusive
No placebo & main OCD measurements only made til 24 hours after sessions
(Moreno, Wiegand, Taitano, Delgado 2006)
Obs
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r-ra
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OC
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Issues and Caveats
Can’t predict – who will be benefit, who won’t– who will have anxiety, who won’t
Mechanisms of lasting change unknown / unstudied– Vollenweider and Kometer (2010) hypothesize
a role for brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in sustained antidepressant-like effects of psychedelics
Recent pilot studies in patients show safety but can’t (yet?) prove benefits (newer studies are ongoing, including psilocybin for cancer anxiety, smoking cessation)