Using machine learning analysis, researchers have determined that a mystical and insightful psychedelic drug experience may be linked to long-term reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms.
The study is the first to characterise subtypes of the subjective psychedelic experience and link them to mental health outcomes.
The team utilised machine learning to analyse data from almost 1,000 respondents to a survey about their previous non-clinical experiences with psychedelic drugs.
The analysis suggests that individuals who scored the highest on questionnaires assessing the mystical and insightful nature of their experiences consistently reported improvements in their anxiety and depression symptoms.
The research has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Study findings
The data also found that a challenging experience while taking psychedelics – such as one that feels frightening – can have beneficial results, especially in the context of mystical and insightful experiences.
The researchers suggest this could be helpful for practitioners to know as they guide patients through clinical trials testing psychedelics’ therapeutic potential.
Senior author Alan Davis, assistant professor and director of the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education in The Ohio State University College of Social Work, commented: “Sometimes the challenge arises because it’s an intensely mystical and insightful experience that can, in and of itself, be challenging.
“In the clinical research setting, folks are doing everything they can to create a safe and supportive environment. But when challenges do come up, it’s important to better understand that challenging experiences can actually be related to positive outcomes.”
The 985 participants whose responses were analysed in this study described substances they had used and completed questionnaires evaluating the extent to which their psychedelic experience was mystical, psychologically insightful, or challenging.
Outcomes assessed in the survey included depression and anxiety symptom levels and ratings of satisfaction with life and psychological flexibility – one’s capacity to act in ways that are consistent with their values regardless of whatever internal or external experience they might have – before and after using the psychedelic.
The sample included users of psilocybin, LSD, Ayahuasca, mescaline, peyote cactus and 5-MeO-DMT, with the estimated dose level of the single drug use they recalled.
“The group that had the highest insightful and mystical experiences and low challenging experiences showed the most benefit in terms of remission of anxiety and depression symptoms and other longer lasting benefits to their life,” said first author Aki Nikolaidis, an affiliate of Ohio State’s Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (CPDRE) and a research scientist in the Center for the Developing Brain at the Child Mind Institute.
Psilocybin and LSD
Data analysed from participants who had used psilocybin and LSD showed that the same patterns emerged: Three distinct subtypes that were associated with the same outcomes, including benefits to mental health even after a challenging experience.
That replication speaks to the importance of the subjective experience for psychedelics users, Nikolaidis said.
“Identifying subtypes that exist regardless of which psychedelic you take answers an interesting question,” he said.
“But the fact that we found that they’re associated with specific outcomes, and replicated that finding, really shows why it’s important to understand the powerful nature of what is happening subjectively and its potential to yield a beneficial outcome.”
The researchers noted that a number of trends stood out, including:
The positive scoring group whose experience could be considered optimal – high scores on mysticism and insight and low scores on challenges – tended to be younger than participants in the other groups.
Among individuals who scored highest on challenging experiences, there was a higher proportion of people who had taken large doses of the psychedelic drugs.
The low scoring subtype had lower psychological flexibility, anxiety and depression scores before the psychedelic experience, and lower improvements in those symptoms and satisfaction with life than the other two subtypes.
Davis said he will be watching to see if these subtypes of experiences apply in the clinical setting, where psilocybin-assisted therapy is being studied at Ohio State for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder among military veterans.
“Finding the variety of other outcomes that these subtypes might be related to is an interesting next step,” he said.
“These could include adaptive or functional outcomes in people’s quality of life or well-being, or a better understanding of their life’s purpose or relationships.”
The work was supported by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, the CPDRE, the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, and private donors.
Additional co-authors include Rafaelle Lancelotta of Ohio State, and Natalie Gukasyan, Roland Griffiths and Frederick Barrett of the Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where Davis is also an affiliate.
