Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Psychopharmacology Psychedelic Drugs

New psychedelic research sheds light on why psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been consumed for centuries

by Eric W. Dolan
July 15, 2020
in Psychedelic Drugs
(Image by Michael M from Pixabay)

(Image by Michael M from Pixabay)

[Follow PsyPost on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A new study from the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine provides insight into the psychoactive effects that distinguish psilocybin from other hallucinogenic substances. The findings suggest that feelings of spiritual and/or psychological insight play an important role in the drug’s popularity.

The new study has been published in the journal Psychopharmacology.

“Recently there has been a renewal of interest in research with psychedelic drugs,” explained Roland R. Griffiths, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences who is the corresponding author of the new study.

“Studies from the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and elsewhere suggest that psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, has significant potential for treating various psychiatric conditions such as depression and drug dependence disorders. This study sought to address a simple but somewhat perplexing question: Why do people use psilocybin?”

“Psilocybin, in the form of hallucinogenic mushrooms, has been used for centuries for the psychoactive effects. Recent US survey studies show that lifetime psilocybin use is relatively modest and quite stable over a period of decades,” Griffiths explained.

“However, the National Institute on Drug Abuse does not consider psilocybin to be addictive because it does not cause uncontrollable drug seeking behavior, does not produce classic euphoria, does not produce a withdrawal syndrome, and does not activate brain mechanisms associated with classic drugs of abuse.”

In the double-blind study, 20 healthy participants with histories of hallucinogen use received doses of psilocybin, dextromethorphan (DXM), and a placebo during five experiment sessions.

“Dextromethorphan was chosen as a comparator to psilocybin because, although it is a hallucinogen with some effects similar to psilocybin, it has a substantially lower rate of non-medical use despite its widespread availability as an over-the-counter cough medicine,” Griffiths told PsyPost.

Each experimental session was separated by about two to seven days. The sessions took place in a living room–like environment, and the participants were instructed to lie down on a couch and listen to music.

The participants completed various assessments during the experimental sessions and wrote a brief description of their experiences afterward. In addition, the participants completed a follow-up questionnaire one week and one month after their last session.

The researchers found that most of the participants reported wanting to take psilocybin again. But only 1 in 4 reported wanting to take DXM again.

“The study showed that several subjective features of the drug experience predicted participants’ desire to take psilocybin again: psychological insight, meaningfulness of the experience, increased awareness of beauty, positive social effects (e.g. empathy), positive mood (e.g. inner peace), amazement, and mystical-type effects,” Griffiths explained.

Nearly half of the participants rated their experience following the highest psilocybin dose to be among the top most meaningful and psychologically insightful of their lives.

“The study provides an answer to the puzzle for why psilocybin has been used by people for hundreds of years, yet it does not share any of the features used to define classic drugs of abuse. The answer seems to reside in the ability of psilocybin to produce unique changes in the human conscious experience that give rise to meaning, insight, the experience of beauty and mystical-type effects,” Griffiths said.

“Future research should determine whether there are other subjective domains of subjective experience or other effects of psilocybin that motivate people to use psilocybin.”

The study, “Subjective features of the psilocybin experience that may account for its self-administration by humans: a double-blind comparison of psilocybin and dextromethorphan“, was authored by Theresa M. Carbonaro, Matthew W. Johnson, Roland R. Griffiths.

(Image by Michael M from Pixabay)

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin13Send
Previous Post

Narcissistic employees are more likely to take charge at work and have more psychological energy, study finds

Next Post

Sharing selfies on Instagram might influence a person’s happiness with life, study suggests

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Brain stimulation technique combined with cognitive training reduces ADHD symptoms in children

Psychedelic mushrooms and quiet quitting: Psilocybin use tied to working fewer overtime hours

Male weightlifters who use steroids are more prone to psychopathology than those who do not

Mindfulness study: Practicing self-compassion reduces impulse buying

Four distinct trajectories of psychopathic traits identified among youth in the legal system

RECENT

2016 election study uncovers surprising unconscious memory shifts among voters

New study highlights psilocybin’s promise for major depressive disorder treatment

Neuroimaging study reveals hate speech dulls brain’s empathy responses

Most Americans think that other people view pornography more often than they do, study finds

Pandemic lockdowns amplified smartphone mimicry, study reveals

Brain stimulation technique combined with cognitive training reduces ADHD symptoms in children

Mindfulness study: Practicing self-compassion reduces impulse buying

Male weightlifters who use steroids are more prone to psychopathology than those who do not

Currently Playing

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Narcissism
Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Mental Health
New study provides insight into the psychological core of dark personality traits

Four distinct trajectories of psychopathic traits identified among youth in the legal system

Psychopathy
Social working memory abnormalities may be a neurocognitive mechanism underlying poorer social connection in PTSD

Exposure to wood smoke leads to complex and long-lasting neuroinflammatory and neurometabolomic alterations

Mental Health
People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

Business
People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

Mental Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist