Positive long-term effects of psilocybin are mainly related to the quality of the experience

There is a new scientific article that investigates how the acute experience of psilocybin relates to positive effects that can still be noticeable weeks later.

In it, we discuss:

The researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study with 40 healthy volunteers, 39 of whom were included in the main analysis. Participants received psilocybin twice and placebo twice within two neuroimaging arms, at an oral dose of 0.26 mg/kg, averaging approximately 18.6 mg. Subsequently, the relationship between the session experience and subsequent changes in mood, well-being, attitude toward oneself and life, behavior, social relationships, and spirituality was examined.

The real focus of this article is not on depressed patients, but on healthy people and on the question of which components of the experience best predict later positive effects. The authors found that Oceanic Boundlessness and Visionary Restructuralization in particular—that is, experiences of connectedness, a sense of unity, and profound inner experience—were associated with favorable lasting effects.

It is also interesting that difficult or anxious moments during the trip were not automatically associated with poorer outcomes. The Dread of Ego Dissolution scale predicted no negative long-term effects in this study. According to the authors, challenging moments within a safe setting can actually be part of a process that still turns out positively.

The participants generally described the acute effects as pleasant or varying between pleasant and unpleasant. Only one session was experienced as entirely unpleasant. At the end of the sessions, the experience usually returned to positive or neutral. Four weeks later, participants reported lasting beneficial effects across all positive domains of the questionnaire, while negative after-effects were negligible.

It is important to note, however, that this study was conducted with healthy volunteers in a highly controlled research setting involving preparation, guidance, and fixed sitters. Additionally, the number of participants was relatively small, the study was not primarily designed for these exploratory analyses, and blinding was difficult, which is often a problem in psychedelic research.

In one sentence: this article shows that psilocybin produced primarily positive lasting effects in healthy volunteers in a controlled setting, and that even challenging moments during the experience do not necessarily have to turn out unfavorably.