Publications
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Simonsson O, Carlbring P, Carhart-Harris R, et al., 2023, Assessing the risk of symptom worsening in psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis., Psychiatry Res, Vol: 327
We conducted a meta-analysis using individual participant data from three, two-dose psilocybin trials for depression (N = 102) with the aim of assessing the risk of symptom worsening. Clinically significant symptom worsening occurred for a minority of participants in the psilocybin and escitalopram conditions (∼10%) and for a majority of participants in the waitlist condition (63.6%). Using data from the two trials with control arms, the psilocybin arm showed a lower likelihood of symptom worsening versus waitlist, and no difference in the likelihood of symptom worsening versus escitalopram. The limitation of a relatively small sample size should be addressed in future studies.
Zeifman RJ, Kettner H, Pagni BA, et al., 2023, Co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences, Scientific Reports, Vol: 13, Pages: 1-11, ISSN: 2045-2322
Psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) experiences can range from very positive to highly challenging (e.g., fear, grief, and paranoia). These challenging experiences contribute to hesitancy toward psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy among health care providers and patients. Co-use of 3,4-Methylenedioxy methamphetamine (MDMA) with psilocybin/LSD anecdotally reduces challenging experiences and enhances positive experiences associated with psilocybin/LSD. However, limited research has investigated the acute effects of co-use of MDMA and psilocybin/LSD. In a prospective convenience sample (N = 698) of individuals with plans to use psilocybin/LSD, we examined whether co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD (n = 27) is associated with differences in challenging or positive experiences. Challenging experiences were measured using the Challenging Experiences Questionnaire and positive experiences were measured using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire and single-item measures of self-compassion, compassion, love, and gratitude. Potentially confounding variables were identified and included as covariates. Relative to psilocybin/LSD alone, co-use of psilocybin/LSD with a self-reported low (but not medium–high) dose of MDMA was associated with significantly less intense total challenging experiences, grief, and fear, as well as increased self-compassion, love and gratitude. Co-use of psilocybin/LSD and MDMA was not associated with differences in mystical-type experiences or compassion. Findings suggest co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against some aspects of challenging experiences and enhance certain positive experiences. Limitations include use of a convenience sample, small sample size, and non-experimental design. Additional studies (including controlled dose–response studies) that examine the effects and safety of co-administering MDMA with psilocybin/LSD (in healthy controls and clinical samples) are warranted an
Weiss B, Erritzoe D, Giribaldi B, et al., 2023, A critical evaluation of QIDS-SR-16 using data from a trial of psilocybin therapy versus escitalopram treatment for depression., J Psychopharmacol, Vol: 37, Pages: 717-732
BACKGROUND: In a recent clinical trial examining the comparative efficacy of psilocybin therapy (PT) versus escitalopram treatment (ET) for major depressive disorder, 14 of 16 major efficacy outcome measures yielded results that favored PT, but the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Report, 16 items (QIDS-SR16) did not. AIMS: The present study aims to (1) rationally and psychometrically account for discrepant results between outcome measures and (2) to overcome psychometric problems particular to individual measures by re-examining between-condition differences in depressive response using all outcome measures at item-, facet-, and factor-levels of analysis. METHOD: Four depression measures were compared on the basis of their validity for examining differences in depressive response between PT and ET conditions. RESULTS/OUTCOMES: Possible reasons for discrepant findings on the QIDS-SR16 include its higher variance, imprecision due to compound items and whole-scale and unidimensional sum-scoring, vagueness in the phrasing of scoring options for items, and its lack of focus on a core depression factor. Reanalyzing the trial data at item-, facet-, and factor-levels yielded results suggestive of PT's superior efficacy in reducing depressed mood, anhedonia, and a core depression factor, along with specific symptoms such as sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: Our results raise concerns about the adequacy of the QIDS-SR16 for measuring depression, as well as the practice of relying on individual scales that tend not to capture the multidimensional structure or core of depression. Using an alternative approach that captures depression more granularly and comprehensively yielded specific insight into areas where PT therapy may be particularly useful to patients and clinicians.
Jauhar S, Arnone D, Baldwin DS, et al., 2023, A leaky umbrella has little value: evidence clearly indicates the serotonin system is implicated in depression., Mol Psychiatry
Erritzoe D, Godlewska BR, Rizzo G, et al., 2023, Brain Serotonin Release Is Reduced in Patients With Depression: A [11C]Cimbi-36 Positron Emission Tomography Study With a d-Amphetamine Challenge., Biol Psychiatry, Vol: 93, Pages: 1089-1098
BACKGROUND: The serotonin hypothesis of depression proposes that diminished serotonergic (5-HT) neurotransmission is causal in the pathophysiology of the disorder. Although the hypothesis is over 50 years old, there is no firm in vivo evidence for diminished 5-HT neurotransmission. We recently demonstrated that the 5-HT2A receptor agonist positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand [11C]Cimbi-36 is sensitive to increases in extracellular 5-HT induced by an acute d-amphetamine challenge. Here we applied [11C]Cimbi-36 PET to compare brain 5-HT release capacity in patients experiencing a major depressive episode (MDE) to that of healthy control subjects (HCs) without depression. METHODS: Seventeen antidepressant-free patients with MDE (3 female/14 male, mean age 44 ± 13 years, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score 21 ± 4 [range 16-30]) and 20 HCs (3 female/17 male, mean age 32 ± 9 years) underwent 90-minute dynamic [11C]Cimbi-36 PET before and 3 hours after a 0.5-mg/kg oral dose of d-amphetamine. Frontal cortex (main region of interest) 5-HT2A receptor nondisplaceable binding was calculated from kinetic analysis using the multilinear analysis-1 approach with the cerebellum as the reference region. RESULTS: Following d-amphetamine administration, frontal nondisplaceable binding potential (BPND) was significantly reduced in the HC group (1.04 ± 0.31 vs. 0.87 ± 0.24, p < .001) but not in the MDE group (0.97 ± 0.25 vs. 0.92 ± 0.22, not significant). ΔBPND of the MDE group was significantly lower than that of the HC group (HC: 15% ± 14% vs. MDE: 6.5% ± 20%, p = .041). CONCLUSIONS: This first direct assessment of 5-HT release capacity in people with depression provides clear evidence for dysfunctional serotonergic neurotransmission in depression by demonstrating reduced 5-HT release capacity in patients experiencing an MDE.
Weiss B, Wingert A, Erritzoe D, et al., 2023, Prevalence and therapeutic impact of adverse life event reexperiencing under ceremonial ayahuasca, Scientific Reports, Vol: 13, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 2045-2322
The present study examined the safety and efficacy of the ceremonial use of ayahuasca in relation to reports of heightened life event reexperiencing under psychedelics. The study examined (1) the prevalence of specific types of adverse life event reexperiencing, (2) characteristics predictive of reexperiencing, (3) the psychological character of reexperiencing, and (4) the impact of reexperiencing on mental health. Participants were recruited from three ayahuasca healing and spiritual centers in South and Central America (N = 33 military veterans, 306 non-veterans) using self-report data at three timepoints (Pre-retreat, Post-retreat, 3-months post-retreat). Reexperiencing adverse life events under ayahuasca was common, with women showing particularly high probability of reexperiencing sexual assault, veterans reexperiencing combat-related trauma, and individuals with a self-reported lifetime diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder exhibiting a substantively higher prevalence of reexperiencing. Reexperiencing was associated with states of reappraisal, psychological flexibility, and discomfort during ceremony, and incremental reductions in trait neuroticism. Clinical implications of these results for the application of psychedelics to mood and stress disorders are discussed.
Timmermann Slater CB, Roseman L, Haridas S, et al., 2023, Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, Vol: 120, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 0027-8424
Psychedelics have attracted medical interest, but their effects on human brain function are incompletely understood. In a comprehensive, within-subjects, placebo-controlled design, we acquired multimodal neuroimaging [i.e., EEG-fMRI (electroencephalography-functional MRI)] data to assess the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) on brain function in 20 healthy volunteers. Simultaneous EEG-fMRI was acquired prior to, during, and after a bolus IV administration of 20 mg DMT, and, separately, placebo. At dosages consistent with the present study, DMT, a serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist, induces a deeply immersive and radically altered state of consciousness. DMT is thus a useful research tool for probing the neural correlates of conscious experience. Here, fMRI results revealed robust increases in global functional connectivity (GFC), network disintegration and desegregation, and a compression of the principal cortical gradient under DMT. GFC × subjective intensity maps correlated with independent positron emission tomography (PET)-derived 5-HT2AR maps, and both overlapped with meta-analytical data implying human-specific psychological functions. Changes in major EEG-measured neurophysiological properties correlated with specific changes in various fMRI metrics, enriching our understanding of the neural basis of DMT’s effects. The present findings advance on previous work by confirming a predominant action of DMT—and likely other 5-HT2AR agonist psychedelics—on the brain’s transmodal association pole, i.e., the neurodevelopmentally and evolutionarily recent cortex that is associated with species-specific psychological advancements, and high expression of 5-HT2A receptors.
Nutt D, Spriggs M, Erritzoe D, 2023, Psychedelics therapeutics: What we know, what we think, and what we need to research, NEUROPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 223, ISSN: 0028-3908
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- Citations: 1
Spriggs MJ, Giribaldi B, Lyons T, et al., 2022, Body mass index (BMI) does not predict responses to psilocybin, Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol: 37, Pages: 107-116, ISSN: 0271-0749
Background:Psilocybin is a serotonin type 2A (5-HT2A) receptor agonist and naturally occurring psychedelic. 5-HT2A receptor density is known to be associated with body mass index (BMI), however, the impact of this on psilocybin therapy has not been explored. While body weight-adjusted dosing is widely used, this imposes a practical and financial strain on the scalability of psychedelic therapy. This gap between evidence and practice is caused by the absence of studies clarifying the relationship between BMI, the acute psychedelic experience and long-term psychological outcomes.Method:Data were pooled across three studies using a fixed 25 mg dose of psilocybin delivered in a therapeutic context to assess whether BMI predicts characteristics of the acute experience and changes in well-being 2 weeks later. Supplementing frequentist analysis with Bayes Factors has enabled for conclusions to be drawn regarding the null hypothesis.Results:Results support the null hypothesis that BMI does not predict overall intensity of the altered state, mystical experiences, perceptual changes or emotional breakthroughs during the acute experience. There was weak evidence for greater ‘dread of ego dissolution’ in participants with lower BMI, however, further analysis suggested BMI did not meaningfully add to the combination of the other covariates (age, sex and study). While mystical-type experiences and emotional breakthroughs were strong predictors of improvements in well-being, BMI was not.Conclusions:These findings have important implications for our understanding of pharmacological and extra-pharmacological contributors to psychedelic-assisted therapy and for the standardization of a fixed therapeutic dose in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Nygart VA, Pommerencke LM, Haijen E, et al., 2022, Antidepressant effects of a psychedelic experience in a large prospective naturalistic sample, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 36, Pages: 932-942, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 1
Szigeti B, Nutt D, Carhart-Harris R, et al., 2022, The difference between 'placebo group' and 'placebo control': a case study in psychedelic microdosing
<p>In medical trials, ‘blinding’ ensures the equal distribution of expectancy effects between treatment arms in theory; however, blinding often fails in practice. We use computational modelling to show how weak blinding, combined with positive treatment expectancy, can lead to an uneven distribution of expectancy effects. We call this ‘activated expectancy bias’ (AEB) and show that AEB can inflate estimates of treatment effects and create false positive findings. To counteract AEB, we introduce the Correct Guess Rate Curve (CGRC), a statistical tool that can estimate the outcome of a perfectly blinded trial based on data from an imperfectly blinded trial. To demonstrate the impact of AEB and the utility of the CGRC on empirical data, we re-analyzed the ‘self-blinding psychedelic microdose trial’ dataset. Results suggest that observed placebo-microdose differences are susceptible to AEB and are at risk of being false positive findings, hence, we argue that microdosing can be understood as active placebo. These results highlight the important difference between ‘trials with a placebo-control group’, i.e., when a placebo control group is formally present, and ‘placebo-controlled trials’, where patients are genuinely blind. We also present a new blinding integrity assessment tool that is compatible with CGRC and recommend its adoption.</p>
Teixeira PJ, Johnson MW, Timmermann C, et al., 2021, Psychedelics and health behaviour change, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 36, Pages: 12-19, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 14
Carhart-Harris RL, Wagner AC, Agrawal M, et al., 2021, Can pragmatic research, real-world data and digital technologies aid the development of psychedelic medicine?, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 36, Pages: 6-11, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 15
Andersen KAA, Carhart-Harris R, Nutt DJ, et al., 2020, Therapeutic effects of classic serotonergic psychedelics: A systematic review of modern-era clinical studies, ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Vol: 143, Pages: 101-118, ISSN: 0001-690X
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- Citations: 66
Stenbaek DS, Madsen MK, Ozenne B, et al., 2020, Brain serotonin 2A receptor binding predicts subjective temporal and mystical effects of psilocybin in healthy humans, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 35, Pages: 459-468, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 27
Borissova A, Ferguson B, Wall MB, et al., 2020, Acute effects of MDMA on trust, cooperative behaviour and empathy: A double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 35, Pages: 547-555, ISSN: 0269-8811
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- Citations: 7
Nutt D, Erritzoe D, Carhart-Harris R, 2020, Psychedelic Psychiatry's Brave New World, CELL, Vol: 181, Pages: 24-28, ISSN: 0092-8674
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- Citations: 96
Erritzoe D, Ashok AH, Searle GE, et al., 2020, Serotonin release measured in the human brain: A PET study with [11C]CIMBI-36 and d-amphetamine challenge, Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol: 45, Pages: 804-810, ISSN: 0893-133X
Positron emission tomography (PET) enables non-invasive estimation of neurotransmitter fluctuations in the living human brain. While these methods have been applied to dopamine and some other transmitters, estimation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; Serotonin) release has proved to be challenging. Here we demonstrate the utility of the novel 5-HT2A receptor agonist radioligand, [11C]CIMBI-36, and a d-amphetamine challenge to evaluate synaptic 5-HT changes in the living human brain. Seventeen healthy male volunteers received [11C]CIMBI-36 PET scans before and 3 hours after an oral dose of d-amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg). Dynamic PET data were acquired over 90 minutes, and the total volume of distribution (VT) in the frontal cortex and the cerebellum derived from a kinetic analysis using MA1. The frontal cortex binding potential (BPNDfrontal) was calculated as (VTfrontal/VTcerebellum)-1. BPNDfrontal = 1- (BPNDfrontalpost-dose/ BPNDfrontalbaseline) was used as an index of 5-HT release. Statistical inference was tested by means of a paired Students t-test evaluating a reduction in post-amphetamine [11C]CIMBI-36 BPNDfrontal .Following d-amphetamine administration, [11C]CIMBI-36 BPNDfrontal was reduced by 14 ± 13 % (p = 0.002). Similar effects were observed in other cortical regions examined in an exploratory analysis.[11C]CIMBI-36 binding is sensitive to synaptic serotonin release in the human brain, and when combined with a d-amphetamine challenge, the evaluation of the human brain serotonin system in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depression and Parkinson’s disease is enabled.
Erritzoe D, Godlewska BR, Rizzo G, et al., 2019, Brain serotonin release reduced among patients with severe depression: a pet study with [11c]cimbi-36 and d-amphetamine challenge, 32nd Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Publisher: ELSEVIER, Pages: S258-S258, ISSN: 0924-977X
Stenbaek D, Madsen MK, Ozenne B, et al., 2019, Modelling the acute temporal dynamics of psilocybin psychoactive effects; relation to brain serotonin 2a receptor levels, 32nd Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Publisher: ELSEVIER, Pages: S558-S558, ISSN: 0924-977X
Timmermann Slater CB, Roseman L, Schartner M, et al., 2019, Neural correlates of the DMT experience as assessed with multivariate EEG, Scientific Reports, Vol: 9, Pages: 1-13, ISSN: 2045-2322
Studying transitions in and out of the altered state of consciousness caused by intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT - a fast-acting tryptamine psychedelic) offers a safe and powerful means of advancing knowledge on the neurobiology of conscious states. Here we sought to investigate the effects of IV DMT on the power spectrum and signal diversity of human brain activity (6 female, 7 male) recorded via multivariate EEG, and plot relationships between subjective experience, brain activity and drug plasma concentrations across time. Compared with placebo, DMT markedly reduced oscillatory power in the alpha and beta bands and robustly increased spontaneous signal diversity. Time-referenced neurophenomenological analyses revealed close relationships between changes in various aspects of subjective experience and changes in brain activity. Importantly, the emergence of oscillatory activity within the delta and theta frequency bands was found to correlate with the peak of the experience - particularly its eyes-closed visual component. These findings highlight marked changes in oscillatory activity and signal diversity with DMT that parallel broad and specific components of the subjective experience, thus advancing our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of immersive states of consciousness.
Nestor LJ, Paterson LM, Murphy A, et al., 2019, Naltrexone differentially modulates the neural correlates of motor impulse control in abstinent alcohol-dependent and poly-substance dependent individuals, European Journal of Neuroscience, Vol: 50, Pages: 2311-2321, ISSN: 0953-816X
Identifying key neural substrates in addiction disorders for targeted drug development remains a major challenge for clinical neuroscience. One emerging target is the opioid system, where substance‐dependent populations demonstrate prefrontal opioid dysregulation that predicts impulsivity and relapse. This may suggest that disturbances to the prefrontal opioid system could confer a risk for relapse in addiction due to weakened “top‐down” control over impulsive behaviour. Naltrexone is currently licensed for alcohol dependence and is also used clinically for impulse control disorders. Using a go/no‐go (GNG) task we examined the effects of acute naltrexone on the neural correlates of successful motor impulse control in abstinent alcoholics (AUD), abstinent poly substance‐dependent (poly‐SUD) individuals, and controls during a randomized double blind placebo controlled fMRI study. In the absence of any differences on GNG task performance, the AUD group showed a significantly greater BOLD response compared to the control group in lateral and medial prefrontal regions during both placebo and naltrexone treatments; effects that were positively correlated with alcohol abstinence. There was also a dissociation in the positive modulating effects of naltrexone in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior insula cortex (AIC) of the AUD and poly‐SUD groups respectively. Self‐reported trait impulsivity in the poly‐SUD group also predicted the effect of naltrexone in the AIC. These results suggest that acute naltrexone differentially amplifies neural responses within two distinct regions of a salience network during successful motor impulse control in abstinent AUD and poly‐SUD groups, which are predicted by trait impulsivity in the poly‐SUD group.
Timmermann C, Roseman L, Schartner M, et al., 2019, Neural correlates of the DMT experience as assessed via multivariate EEG
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Studying transitions in and out of the altered state of consciousness caused by intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT – a fast-acting tryptamine psychedelic) offers a safe and powerful means of advancing knowledge on the neurobiology of conscious states. Here we sought to investigate the effects of IV DMT on the power spectrum and signal diversity of human brain activity (6 female, 7 male) recorded via multivariate EEG, and plot relationships between subjective experience, brain activity and drug plasma concentrations across time. Compared with placebo, DMT markedly reduced oscillatory power in the <jats:italic>alpha</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>beta</jats:italic> bands and robustly increased spontaneous signal diversity. Time-referenced analyses revealed close relationships between changes in various aspects of subjective experience and changes in brain activity. Importantly, the emergence of oscillatory activity within the delta and theta frequency bands was found to correlate with the peak of the experience, and particularly its eyes-closed visual component. These findings highlight marked changes in oscillatory activity and signal diversity with DMT that parallel broad and specific components of the relevant subjective experience and thus further our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of immersive states of consciousness.</jats:p>
Kuypers KPC, Ng L, Erritzoe D, et al., 2019, Microdosing psychedelics: More questions than answers? An overview and suggestions for future research, JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, ISSN: 0269-8811
Erritzoe D, Godlewska BR, Rizzo G, et al., 2019, Reduced serotonin release in patients with major depression: a PET study with [11C]Cimbi-36 and d-amphetamine challenge, 29th International Symposium on Cerebral Blood Flow, Metabolism and Function / 14th International Conference on Quantification of Brain Function with PET (BRAIN and BRAIN Pet), Publisher: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, Pages: 548-549, ISSN: 0271-678X
Madsen MK, Fisher PM, Burmester D, et al., 2019, Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels, NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 44, Pages: 1328-1334, ISSN: 0893-133X
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- Citations: 128
Madsen MK, Fisher PM, Burmester D, et al., 2019, Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels (vol 44, pg 1328, 2019), NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, Vol: 44, Pages: 1336-1337, ISSN: 0893-133X
Erritzoe D, Smith J, Fisher PM, et al., 2019, Recreational use of psychedelics is associated with elevated personality trait openness: Exploration of associations with brain serotonin markers., J Psychopharmacol, Pages: 269881119827891-269881119827891
BACKGROUND:: Recent studies have suggested therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for a variety of mental health conditions. The understanding of how single psychedelic administrations can induce long-lasting effects are, in large, still lacking. However, recent studies in both healthy and clinical populations suggest a role for personality changes. AIM:: To test support for some of these plausible mechanisms we evaluated (cross-sectional) associations between recreational use of psychedelics and 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and (a) personality measures and (b) key markers of cerebral serotonergic signalling (serotonin transporter and serotonin-2A-receptor binding). METHODS:: In 10 psychedelic-preferring recreational users, 14 MDMA-preferring users and 21 non-using controls, personality was assessed using the 'big five' instrument Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). Frontal serotonin transporter and serotonin-2A-receptor binding potentials were quantified using [11C]DASB and [18F]altanserin positron emission tomography, respectively. RESULTS:: Of the five NEO-PI-R traits, only openness to experience scores differed between the three groups; psychedelic-preferring recreational users showing higher openness to experience scores when compared with both MDMA-preferring users and controls. Openness to experience scores were positively associated with lifetime number of psychedelic exposures, and among all MDMA-preferring user/psychedelic-preferring recreational user individuals, frontal serotonin transporter binding - but not frontal serotonin-2A-receptor binding - was positively associated with openness to experience. CONCLUSION:: Our findings from this cross-sectional study support increasing evidence of a positive association between psychedelic experiences and openness to experience, and (a) expands this to the context of 'recreational' psychedelics use, and (b) links serotonergic neurotransmission to openness to experience. A modulation of perso
Madsen MK, Burmester D, Stenbaek DS, et al., 2019, Psilocybin occupancy of brain serotonin 2A receptors correlates with psilocin levels and subjective experience: a [11C]Cimbi-36 PET study in humans, 31st Congress of the European-College-of-Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), Publisher: ELSEVIER, Pages: S304-S305, ISSN: 0924-977X
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- Citations: 2
Erritzoe D, Roseman L, Nour MM, et al., 2018, Effects of psilocybin therapy on personality structure, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Vol: 138, Pages: 368-378, ISSN: 1600-0447
ObjectiveTo explore whether psilocybin with psychological support modulates personality parameters in patients suffering from treatment‐resistant depression (TRD).MethodTwenty patients with moderate or severe, unipolar, TRD received oral psilocybin (10 and 25 mg, one week apart) in a supportive setting. Personality was assessed at baseline and at 3‐month follow‐up using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R), the subjective psilocybin experience with Altered State of Consciousness (ASC) scale, and depressive symptoms with QIDS‐SR16.ResultsNeuroticism scores significantly decreased while Extraversion increased following psilocybin therapy. These changes were in the direction of the normative NEO‐PI‐R data and were both predicted, in an exploratory analysis, by the degree of insightfulness experienced during the psilocybin session. Openness scores also significantly increased following psilocybin, whereas Conscientiousness showed trend‐level increases, and Agreeableness did not change.ConclusionOur observation of changes in personality measures after psilocybin therapy was mostly consistent with reports of personality change in relation to conventional antidepressant treatment, although the pronounced increases in Extraversion and Openness might constitute an effect more specific to psychedelic therapy. This needs further exploration in future controlled studies, as do the brain mechanisms of postpsychedelic personality change.
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