Psilocybin as a catalyst of spiritual experiences

“A large body of evidence, including longitudinal analyses of personality change, suggests that core personality traits are predominantly stable after age 30. to our knowledge, no study has demonstrated changes in personality in healthy adults after an experimentally manipulated discrete event. intriguingly, double-blind controlled studies have shown that the classic hallucinogen psilocybin occasions personally and spiritually significant mystical experiences that predict long-term changes in behaviors, attitudes and values. in the present report we assessed the effect of psilocybin on changes in the five broad domains of personality-neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. consistent with participant claims of hallucinogen-occasioned increases in aesthetic appreciation, imagination, and creativity, we found significant increases in openness following a high-dose psilocybin session. in participants who had mystical experiences during their psilocybin session, openness remained significantly higher than baseline more than 1 year after the session. the findings suggest a specific role for psilocybin and mystical-type experiences in adult personality change. © the author(s) 2011 reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalspermissions.nav.”

“Psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes; however, little is known scientifically about its long-term effects. we previously reported the effects of a double-blind study evaluating the psychological effects of a high psilocybin dose. this report presents the 14-month follow-up and examines the relationship of the follow-up results to data obtained at screening and on drug session days. participants were 36 hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious/ spiritual activities. oral psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) was administered on one of two or three sessions, with methylphenidate (40 mg/70 kg) administered on the other session(s). during sessions, volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. at the 14-month follow-up, 58% and 67%, respectively, of volunteers rated the psilocybin-occasioned experience as being among the five most personally meaningful and among the five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives; 64% indicated that the experience increased well-being or life satisfaction; 58% met criteria for having had a ‘complete’ mystical experience. correlation and regression analyses indicated a central role of the mystical experience assessed on the session day in the high ratings of personal meaning and spiritual significance at follow-up. of the measures of personality, affect, quality of life and spirituality assessed across the study, only a scale measuring mystical experience showed a difference from screening. when administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences that, at 14-month follow-up, were considered by volunteers to be among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant of their lives.”

“RATIONALE although psilocybin has been used for centuries for religious purposes, little is known scientifically about its acute and persisting effects. objectives this double-blind study evaluated the acute and longer-term psychological effects of a high dose of psilocybin relative to a comparison compound administered under comfortable, supportive conditions. materials and methods the participants were hallucinogen-naïve adults reporting regular participation in religious or spiritual activities. two or three sessions were conducted at 2-month intervals. thirty volunteers received orally administered psilocybin (30 mg/70 kg) and methylphenidate hydrochloride (40 mg/70 kg) in counterbalanced order. to obscure the study design, six additional volunteers received methylphenidate in the first two sessions and unblinded psilocybin in a third session. the 8-h sessions were conducted individually. volunteers were encouraged to close their eyes and direct their attention inward. study monitors rated volunteers’ behavior during sessions. volunteers completed questionnaires assessing drug effects and mystical experience immediately after and 2 months after sessions. community observers rated changes in the volunteer’s attitudes and behavior. results psilocybin produced a range of acute perceptual changes, subjective experiences, and labile moods including anxiety. psilocybin also increased measures of mystical experience. at 2 months, the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes and behavior consistent with changes rated by community observers. conclusions when administered under supportive conditions, psilocybin occasioned experiences similar to spontaneously occurring mystical experiences. the ability to occasion such experiences prospectively will allow rigorous scientific investigations of their causes and consequences.”

“Abstract background: clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression. methods: in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression were randomly assigned and received treatment with single-dose psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) or niacin, both in conjunction with psychotherapy. the primary outcomes were anxiety and depression assessed between groups prior to the crossover at 7 weeks. results: prior to the crossover, psilocybin produced immediate, substantial, and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression and led to decreases in cancer-related demoralization and hopelessness, improved spiritual wellbeing, and increased quality of life. at the 6.5-month follow- up, psilocybin was associated with enduring anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects (approximately 60–80% of participants continued with clinically significant reductions in depression or anxiety), sustained benefits in existential distress and quality of life, as well as improved attitudes towards death. the psilocybin-induced mystical experience mediated the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on anxiety and depression. conclusions: in conjunction with psychotherapy, single moderate-dose psilocybin produced rapid, robust and enduring anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects in patients with cancer-related psychological distress.”

“Responses to hallucinogenic drugs, such as psilocybin, are believed to be critically dependent on the user’s personality, current mood state, drug pre-experiences, expectancies, and social and environmental variables. however, little is known about the order of importance of these variables and their effect sizes in comparison to drug dose. hence, this study investigated the effects of 24 predictor variables, including age, sex, education, personality traits, drug pre-experience, mental state before drug intake, experimental setting, and drug dose on the acute response to psilocybin. the analysis was based on the pooled data of 23 controlled experimental studies involving 409 psilocybin administrations to 261 healthy volunteers. multiple linear mixed effects models were fitted for each of 15 response variables. although drug dose was clearly the most important predictor for all measured response variables, several non-pharmacological variables significantly contributed to the effects of psilocybin. specifically, having a high score in the personality trait of absorption, being in an emotionally excitable and active state immediately before drug intake, and having experienced few psychological problems in past weeks were most strongly associated with pleasant and mystical-type experiences, whereas high emotional excitability, low age, and an experimental setting involving positron emission tomography most strongly predicted unpleasant and/or anxious reactions to psilocybin. the results confirm that non-pharmacological variables play an important role in the effects of psilocybin.”