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Highlighted Journal Articles

Sub-Acute Effects of Psilocybin on Empathy, Creative Thinking, and Subjective Well-Being

Mason NL, Mischler E, Uthaug MV, Kuypers KPC. (2019). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

In this study, participants attending a psilocybin retreat completed tests of creative (convergent and divergent) thinking and empathy, and the ‘satisfaction with life scale’ on three occasions: before ingesting psilocybin, the morning after, and seven days after. Results indicated that psilocybin enhanced divergent thinking and emotional empathy the morning after use. Enhancements in convergent thinking, valence-specific emotional empathy, and well-being persisted seven days after use. Sub-acute changes in empathy correlated with changes in well-being. The study demonstrates that a single administration of psilocybin in a retreat setting (similar to our own) may be associated with sub-acute enhancement of creative thinking, empathy, and subjective well-being.

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Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later

Griffiths R, Richards W, Johnson M, McCann U, Jesse R. (2008). Journal of Psychopharmacology. 22. 621-32.

This study assessed attitudes of volunteers who had taken psilocybin in a previous study 14 months earlier. The volunteers were given psilocybin, encouraged to close their eyes and focus on their inner experience. At the 14-month follow-up, a majority of volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as being among the five most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives, or the single most. Volunteers judged the meaningfulness of the experience to be similar, for example, to the birth of a child. A majority also indicated that the experience increased well-being or life satisfaction.

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Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors

Griffiths RR, Johnson MW, Richards WA, Richards BD, Jesse R, MacLean KA, Barrett FS, Cosimano MP, Klinedinst MA. (2018). Journal of Psychopharmacology. 32 (1). 49-69.

In this study, participants were given varying doses of psilocybin along with support for spiritual practice (meditation, journaling). Compared with low-dose, high-dose psilocybin produced greater acute and persisting effects. At 6 months, high-dose groups showed large significant positive changes on longitudinal measures of interpersonal closeness, gratitude, life meaning/purpose, forgiveness, death transcendence, daily spiritual experiences, religious faith and coping, and community observer ratings of the aforementioned effects. This study demonstrates that psilocybin can occasion enduring trait-level increases in prosocial attitudes/behaviors and in healthy psychological functioning.

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More Journal Articles

Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance

Griffiths RR, Richards WA, McCann U, Jesse R. (2006). Psychopharmacology (Berl). 187 (3). 268-83.
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Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin

Barrett FS, Doss MK, Sepeda ND, Pekar JJ, Griffiths RR. (2020). Scientific Reports, 10, 2214.
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Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences in the treatment of tobacco addiction.

Garcia-Romeu A, Griffiths RR, Johnson MW. (2014). Current Drug Abuse Reviews. 7 (3). 157-64.
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Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial

Garcia-Romeu A, Griffiths RR, Johnson MW. (2014). Current Drug Abuse Reviews. 7 (3). 157-64.
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Psychedelic Research Groups

Johns Hopkins Centre for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research
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Imperial College London Centre for Psychedelic Research
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Yale Psychedelic Science Group
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Non-Profits Supporting Psychedelic Research

MAPS – The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
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The Beckley Foundation
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Usona Institute
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Heffter Research Institute
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Newspaper & Magazine Articles

Vox - The fascinating, strange medical potential of psychedelic drugs, explained in 50+ studies
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The New Yorker - The Science of the Psychedelic Renaissance
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CBC Radio - The Big Trip: How psychedelic drugs are changing lives and transforming psychiatry
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The Wall Street Journal - The New Science of Psychedelics
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Psychology Today - The Psychedelic Renaissance: The Drugs are Back, and They Mean Business This Time!
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Rolling Stone - The Psychedelic Miracle
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The Guardian - Michael Pollan Interview: ‘I was a very reluctant psychonaut’
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Books

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence - Michael Pollan
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The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys - James Fadiman, PhD
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Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substances - Cody Johnson
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