Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors

Zusammenfassung der Studie

Seventy-five healthy subjects underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to test the effects of psilocybin on enduring changes in traits. Psilocybin was administered one and two months after subjects engaged in spiritual practice. In three groups, subjects in the very low dose group (active placebo) received standard support for spiritual practice (LD-SS), while the two high-dose groups received either standard or high spiritual practice support (HD-SS, HD-HS, respectively). In addition to acute psilocybin effects, assessment measures included enduring changes in prosocial attitudes and behaviours and psychological functioning. Both the high-dose groups showed greater acute and persisting effects, with large significant changes on longitudinal measures of interpersonal closeness, gratitude, life meaning/purpose, forgiveness, death transcendence, daily spiritual experiences, religious faith and coping and community observer ratings.