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Bouso JC, Révész D, Ona G, Rossi GN, Rocha JM, Dos Santos RG, Hallak JEC, Alcázar-Corcoles MÁ. Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14052. [PMID: 37696900 PMCID: PMC10495368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41199-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The survey collected information about sociodemographics, lifestyle activities, COVID-19-related circumstances, and drug use (with an emphasis on hallucinogenic drugs), as well as involving psychometric questionnaires. Users of hallucinogenic drugs had higher psychological well-being and lower scores on psychopathology scales, both at baseline and during follow-ups. This difference was larger when users were distinguished by frequency of use, as regular users scored higher on psychological well-being and lower on psychopathology scales. Subjects with more psychological distress had lower scores for all scales of post-traumatic growth, but if they were regular hallucinogens users, they had higher scores for post-traumatic growth. When comparing the results between cultural contexts, heterogeneous results were obtained. There were more English-speaking regular users of hallucinogenic drugs. Further research should analyse the potential role of hallucinogens in large-scale catastrophes, with a special focus on post-traumatic growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Carlos Bouso
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalunya, Spain.
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
| | - Dóra Révész
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Genís Ona
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Medical Anthropology Research Center (MARC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Giordano N Rossi
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Juliana M Rocha
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Rafael G Dos Santos
- ICEERS-International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service, C/ Sepúlveda, 65 Bajos 2, 08015, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jaime E C Hallak
- Department of Neurosciences and Behavior, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology-Translational Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Miguel Ángel Alcázar-Corcoles
- Department of Biological and Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Madrid, Spain
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Wießner I, Falchi M, Palhano-Fontes F, Feilding A, Ribeiro S, Tófoli LF. LSD, madness and healing: Mystical experiences as possible link between psychosis model and therapy model. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1151-1165. [PMID: 34253268 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721002531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND For a century, psychedelics have been investigated as models of psychosis for demonstrating phenomenological similarities with psychotic experiences and as therapeutic models for treating depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. This study sought to explore this paradoxical relationship connecting key parameters of the psychotic experience, psychotherapy, and psychedelic experience. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 24 healthy volunteers received 50 μg d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or inactive placebo. Psychotic experience was assessed by aberrant salience (Aberrant Salience Inventory, ASI), therapeutic potential by suggestibility (Creative Imagination Scale, CIS) and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ; Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS; Experiences Questionnaire, EQ), and psychedelic experience by four questionnaires (Altered State of Consciousness Questionnaire, ASC; Mystical Experiences Questionnaire, MEQ; Challenging Experiences Questionnaire, CEQ; Ego-Dissolution Inventory, EDI). Relationships between LSD-induced effects were examined. RESULTS LSD induced psychedelic experiences, including alteration of consciousness, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and mildly challenging experiences, increased aberrant salience and suggestibility, but not mindfulness. LSD-induced aberrant salience correlated highly with complex imagery, mystical experiences, and ego-dissolution. LSD-induced suggestibility correlated with no other effects. Individual mindfulness changes correlated with aspects of aberrant salience and psychedelic experience. CONCLUSIONS The LSD state resembles a psychotic experience and offers a tool for healing. The link between psychosis model and therapeutic model seems to lie in mystical experiences. The results point to the importance of meaning attribution for the LSD psychosis model and indicate that psychedelic-assisted therapy might benefit from therapeutic suggestions fostering mystical experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Wießner
- Department of Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
- Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Ayahuasca Research and Outreach (ICARO), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Falchi
- Department of Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
- Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Ayahuasca Research and Outreach (ICARO), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Palhano-Fontes
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | | | - Sidarta Ribeiro
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Luís Fernando Tófoli
- Department of Medical Psychology and Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
- Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Ayahuasca Research and Outreach (ICARO), School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
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Vollenweider FX, Smallridge JW. Classic Psychedelic Drugs: Update on Biological
Mechanisms. PHARMACOPSYCHIATRY 2022; 55:121-138. [PMID: 35079988 PMCID: PMC9110100 DOI: 10.1055/a-1721-2914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Renewed interest in the effects of psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric
disorders warrants a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms
underlying the effects of these substances. During the past two decades,
state-of-the-art studies of animals and humans have yielded new important
insights into the molecular, cellular, and systems-level actions of psychedelic
drugs. These efforts have revealed that psychedelics affect primarily
serotonergic receptor subtypes located in cortico-thalamic and cortico-cortical
feedback circuits of information processing. Psychedelic drugs modulate
excitatory-inhibitory balance in these circuits and can participate in
neuroplasticity within brain structures critical for the integration of
information relevant to sensation, cognition, emotions, and the narrative of
self. Neuroimaging studies showed that characteristic dimensions of the
psychedelic experience obtained through subjective questionnaires as well as
alterations in self-referential processing and emotion regulation obtained
through neuropsychological tasks are associated with distinct changes in brain
activity and connectivity patterns at multiple-system levels. These recent
results suggest that changes in self-experience, emotional processing, and
social cognition may contribute to the potential therapeutic effects of
psychedelics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franz X. Vollenweider
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry,
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital for Psychiatry Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland
| | - John W. Smallridge
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging, Department of Psychiatry,
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital for Psychiatry Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland
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Fischman LG. Knowing and being known: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and the sense of authenticity. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:933495. [PMID: 36203843 PMCID: PMC9530638 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.933495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Participants in MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy often emerge from these treatments with new beliefs about themselves and the world. Studies have linked changed beliefs with mystical experiences reported by some participants during drug sessions. While there has been some debate about the epistemic value of drug-induced mystical experiences, and about the need for consent to treatments that may alter metaphysical beliefs, less attention has been given to the sense of authenticity that attends these experiences. In this paper, I consider the intersubjective context in which these changed beliefs arise. I suggest that the sense of authenticity people experience with MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy derives from a simultaneous feeling of knowing and being known. The medications used in these treatments reduce the defensive barriers which ordinarily prevent powerful feelings from being intersubjectively shared, allowing the subject to experience knowing and being known with the therapist and/or internalized or imagined others. In explaining this thesis, I discuss Ratcliffe's "existential feeling;" ipseity in incipient psychosis and psychedelic states; Winnicott's notions of the True Self, omnipotence, creativity, and transitional phenomena; implicit relational knowing and moments of meeting; infant-mother dyad research; predictive processing and the relaxed beliefs model of psychedelic action; the role of the "partner in thought" in knowing and feeling known. I propose that a "transitional space" model of MDMA- and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is well-suited for working through "not-me" or dissociated experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence G Fischman
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States
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Avram M, Rogg H, Korda A, Andreou C, Müller F, Borgwardt S. Bridging the Gap? Altered Thalamocortical Connectivity in Psychotic and Psychedelic States. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:706017. [PMID: 34721097 PMCID: PMC8548726 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.706017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychiatry has a well-established tradition of comparing drug-induced experiences to psychotic symptoms, based on shared phenomena such as altered perceptions. The present review focuses on experiences induced by classic psychedelics, which are substances capable of eliciting powerful psychoactive effects, characterized by distortions/alterations of several neurocognitive processes (e.g., hallucinations). Herein we refer to such experiences as psychedelic states. Psychosis is a clinical syndrome defined by impaired reality testing, also characterized by impaired neurocognitive processes (e.g., hallucinations and delusions). In this review we refer to acute phases of psychotic disorders as psychotic states. Neuropharmacological investigations have begun to characterize the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning the shared and distinct neurophysiological changes observed in psychedelic and psychotic states. Mounting evidence indicates changes in thalamic filtering, along with disturbances in cortico-striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical (CSPTC)-circuitry, in both altered states. Notably, alterations in thalamocortical functional connectivity were reported by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Thalamocortical dysconnectivity and its clinical relevance are well-characterized in psychotic states, particularly in schizophrenia research. Specifically, studies report hyperconnectivity between the thalamus and sensorimotor cortices and hypoconnectivity between the thalamus and prefrontal cortices, associated with patients' psychotic symptoms and cognitive disturbances, respectively. Intriguingly, studies also report hyperconnectivity between the thalamus and sensorimotor cortices in psychedelic states, correlating with altered visual and auditory perceptions. Taken together, the two altered states appear to share clinically and functionally relevant dysconnectivity patterns. In this review we discuss recent findings of thalamocortical dysconnectivity, its putative extension to CSPTC circuitry, along with its clinical implications and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihai Avram
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Schleswig Holstein University Hospital, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Helena Rogg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Schleswig Holstein University Hospital, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Alexandra Korda
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Schleswig Holstein University Hospital, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christina Andreou
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Schleswig Holstein University Hospital, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Felix Müller
- Department of Psychiatry (UPK), University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Borgwardt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Schleswig Holstein University Hospital, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Leptourgos P, Fortier-Davy M, Carhart-Harris R, Corlett PR, Dupuis D, Halberstadt AL, Kometer M, Kozakova E, LarØi F, Noorani TN, Preller KH, Waters F, Zaytseva Y, Jardri R. Hallucinations Under Psychedelics and in the Schizophrenia Spectrum: An Interdisciplinary and Multiscale Comparison. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:1396-1408. [PMID: 32944778 PMCID: PMC7707069 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The recent renaissance of psychedelic science has reignited interest in the similarity of drug-induced experiences to those more commonly observed in psychiatric contexts such as the schizophrenia-spectrum. This report from a multidisciplinary working group of the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research (ICHR) addresses this issue, putting special emphasis on hallucinatory experiences. We review evidence collected at different scales of understanding, from pharmacology to brain-imaging, phenomenology and anthropology, highlighting similarities and differences between hallucinations under psychedelics and in the schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Finally, we attempt to integrate these findings using computational approaches and conclude with recommendations for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pantelis Leptourgos
- Department of Psychiatry, Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - Martin Fortier-Davy
- Institut Jean Nicod, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris France
| | | | - Philip R Corlett
- Department of Psychiatry, Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT
| | - David Dupuis
- Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, Durham, UK
| | - Adam L Halberstadt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
| | - Michael Kometer
- Pharmaco-Neuroimaging and Cognitive-Emotional Processing, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eva Kozakova
- Department of Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Frank LarØi
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Norwegian Center of Excellence for Mental Disorders Research, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Katrin H Preller
- Pharmaco-Neuroimaging and Cognitive-Emotional Processing, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Flavie Waters
- School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia
| | - Yuliya Zaytseva
- Department of Applied Neurosciences and Brain Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
- Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czechia
| | - Renaud Jardri
- Univ. Lille, INSERM U1172, CHU Lille, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Centre (LiNC), Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, ENS, INSERM U960, PSL Research University, Paris, France
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Kraehenmann R, Pokorny D, Aicher H, Preller KH, Pokorny T, Bosch OG, Seifritz E, Vollenweider FX. LSD Increases Primary Process Thinking via Serotonin 2A Receptor Activation. Front Pharmacol 2017; 8:814. [PMID: 29167644 PMCID: PMC5682333 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Stimulation of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors by lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and related compounds such as psilocybin has previously been shown to increase primary process thinking - an ontologically and evolutionary early, implicit, associative, and automatic mode of thinking which is typically occurring during altered states of consciousness such as dreaming. However, it is still largely unknown whether LSD induces primary process thinking under placebo-controlled, standardized experimental conditions and whether these effects are related to subjective experience and 5-HT2A receptor activation. Therefore, this study aimed to test the hypotheses that LSD increases primary process thinking and that primary process thinking depends on 5-HT2A receptor activation and is related to subjective drug effects. Methods: Twenty-five healthy subjects performed an audio-recorded mental imagery task 7 h after drug administration during three drug conditions: placebo, LSD (100 mcg orally) and LSD together with the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin (40 mg orally). The main outcome variable in this study was primary index (PI), a formal measure of primary process thinking in the imagery reports. State of consciousness was evaluated using the Altered State of Consciousness (5D-ASC) rating scale. Results: LSD, compared with placebo, significantly increased primary index (p < 0.001, Bonferroni-corrected). The LSD-induced increase in primary index was positively correlated with LSD-induced disembodiment (p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected), and blissful state (p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected) on the 5D-ASC. Both LSD-induced increases in primary index and changes in state of consciousness were fully blocked by ketanserin. Conclusion: LSD induces primary process thinking via activation of 5-HT2A receptors and in relation to disembodiment and blissful state. Primary process thinking appears to crucially organize inner experiences during both dreams and psychedelic states of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Kraehenmann
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Dan Pokorny
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Helena Aicher
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Katrin H Preller
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Pokorny
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Oliver G Bosch
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Franz X Vollenweider
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
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