Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects
OrthoEvidence Journal (OE Journal) - ACE Report
OE Journal. 2022;10(10):23 Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 23-Feb;():. 10.1007/s00213-011-2358-5What this means for my practice?
In a dose-dependent manner and under supportive conditions, psilocybin facilitated mystical-type experiences which had lasting positive effects on attitudes, mood and behaviour, specifically at the two highest doses. Acute effects such as blood pressure and heart rate also had psilocybin-dose-related increases. Statistically significant acute and persisting effects were seen even at the lowest dose. Besides the reports of anxiety and the unpredictable time-course of anxiety/fear across the session, there was no evidence of adverse effects of high dose psilocybin exposure. The dose-dependent changes observed have implications in the design of psilocybin therapeutic trials. The study is limited by the homogeneity of the sample and the use of hallucinogen-naive subjects.
Study Summary
Eighteen healthy subjects underwent a double-blind, between-group, randomized placebo-controlled trial to test whether the previous findings on the effects of psilocybin occur in a dose-dependent manner. In one-month intervals, subjects received psilocybin doses either in ascending or descending order, along with a placebo (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 mg/70 kg). Acute and persisting effects were measured immediately after and one month after each session, with a follow-up at fourteen months. At the two highest doses, psilocybin produced effects such as extreme anxiety and fear (39% of subjects) and/or mystical experiences in 72% of subjects. With greater positive effects at higher doses, subjects attributed their substantially significant psilocybin experience to positive changes in attitudes, mood and behaviour, while these ratings did not change after 14 months.
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