| 1. |
- Simonsson, Charlotta, et al.
(författare)
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Classic Psychedelic Use and Current Meditation Practice
- 2023
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Ingår i: Mindfulness. - : SPRINGER. - 1868-8527 .- 1868-8535. ; 14, s. 763-768
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesPrevious research has investigated potential synergies between classic psychedelics and meditation practice, but relatively little remains known about the relationship between classic psychedelic experiences and engagement with meditation practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between classic psychedelic experiences and engagement with two popular types of meditation: mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness or compassion meditation.MethodThis retrospective, population-based observational study included 2822 respondents aged 18 years or older in the United States. Using covariate-adjusted regression models, this study examined associations of classic psychedelic experiences with current practice of mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness or compassion meditation.ResultsIn covariate-adjusted regression models, lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice but not current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice. Both psychological insight and "ego dissolution" were associated with a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice and current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice. Notably, when psychological insight and "ego dissolution" were entered into the regression model simultaneously, only greater psychological insight was associated with having a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice and current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice.ConclusionsAlthough the findings in this study cannot demonstrate causality, they suggest that classic psychedelic experiences may exert a positive effect on the cultivation and maintenance of health-related behaviors such as regular meditation practice, with psychological insight appearing to be a stronger predictor than "ego dissolution."PreregistrationThis study was not preregistered.
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| 2. |
- Simonsson, Otto, et al.
(författare)
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Psychedelic use and psychiatric risks
- 2023
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Ingår i: Psychopharmacology. - : SPRINGER. - 0033-3158 .- 1432-2072.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- RationaleResearch on psychedelics has recently shown promising results in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders, but relatively little remains known about the psychiatric risks associated with naturalistic use of psychedelics.ObjectiveThe objective of the current study was to investigate associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and psychiatric risks.MethodsUsing a sample representative of the US adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N=2822), this study investigated associations between lifetime naturalistic psychedelic use, lifetime unusual visual experiences, and past 2-week psychotic symptoms.ResultsAmong respondents who reported lifetime psychedelic use (n=613), 1.3% reported having been told by a doctor or other medical professional that they had hallucinogen persisting perception disorder. In covariate-adjusted linear regression models, lifetime psychedelic use was associated with more unusual visual experiences at any point across the lifetime, but no association was observed between lifetime psychedelic use and past 2-week psychotic symptoms. There was an interaction between lifetime psychedelic use and family (but not personal) history of psychotic or bipolar disorders on past 2-week psychotic symptoms such that psychotic symptoms were highest among respondents who reported lifetime psychedelic use and a family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders and lowest among those who reported lifetime psychedelic use and no family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders.ConclusionsAlthough the results in this study should be interpreted with caution, the findings suggest that lifetime naturalistic use of psychedelics might be associated with more unusual visual experiences across the lifetime, as well as more psychotic symptoms in the past 2 weeks for individuals with a family history of psychotic or bipolar disorders and the reverse for those without such a family history. Future research should distinguish between different psychotic and bipolar disorders and should also utilize other research designs (e.g., longitudinal) and variables (e.g., polygenic risk scores) to better understand potential cause-and-effect relationships.
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| 3. |
- Grossmann, Igor, et al.
(författare)
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Insights into the accuracy of social scientists' forecasts of societal change
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Human Behaviour. - : Springer Nature. - 2397-3374. ; 7, s. 484-501
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How well can social scientists predict societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? To answer these questions, we ran two forecasting tournaments testing the accuracy of predictions of societal change in domains commonly studied in the social sciences: ideological preferences, political polarization, life satisfaction, sentiment on social media, and gender-career and racial bias. After we provided them with historical trend data on the relevant domain, social scientists submitted pre-registered monthly forecasts for a year (Tournament 1; N = 86 teams and 359 forecasts), with an opportunity to update forecasts on the basis of new data six months later (Tournament 2; N = 120 teams and 546 forecasts). Benchmarking forecasting accuracy revealed that social scientists' forecasts were on average no more accurate than those of simple statistical models (historical means, random walks or linear regressions) or the aggregate forecasts of a sample from the general public (N = 802). However, scientists were more accurate if they had scientific expertise in a prediction domain, were interdisciplinary, used simpler models and based predictions on prior data. How accurate are social scientists in predicting societal change, and what processes underlie their predictions? Grossmann et al. report the findings of two forecasting tournaments. Social scientists' forecasts were on average no more accurate than those of simple statistical models.
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| 4. |
- Honk, Ludwig, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal associations between psychedelic use and psychotic symptoms in the United States and the United Kingdom
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Affective Disorders. - 0165-0327 .- 1573-2517. ; 351, s. 194-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has long been speculated that psychedelic use could provoke the onset of psychosis, but there is little evidence to support this conjecture. Using a longitudinal research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (n = 9732), we investigated associations between psychedelic use and change in the number of psychotic symptoms during the two-month study period. In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was not associated with a change in the number of psychotic symptoms unless it interacted with a personal or family history of bipolar disorder, in which case the number of symptoms increased, or with a personal (but not family) history of psychotic disorders, in which case the number of symptoms decreased. Taken together, these findings indicate that psychedelic use may affect psychotic symptoms in individuals with a personal or family history of certain disorders characterized by psychotic symptomatology.
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| 5. |
- Mellner, Christin, et al.
(författare)
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Association between Lifetime Classic Psychedelic Use and Sick Leave in a Population-Based Sample
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Absenteeism from work due to illness, and related costs, has increased steadily during the past decades. In recent years, there has been a reemergence of research on the therapeutic effects of classic psychedelics showing associations with both physical and mental health. However, the association between classic psychedelics and sick leave remains unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and sick leave in the past 30 days among adults in the United States (N = 407,717), using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2005-2019), weighted to be representative of the US adult population. Methods: The primary analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, risky behavior, and use of other substances. Results: There was a significant and negative association between lifetime classic psychedelic use and sick leave in the past 30 days (B = -0.09, p < 0.01) when adjusting for all control variables. Conclusion: These findings suggest that classic psychedelics could potentially lead to reduced sick leave and associated costs in the general population, but more research is needed to investigate potential causal pathways of classic psychedelics on sick leave and evaluate possible mechanisms.
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| 6. |
- Pöllänen, Elin, et al.
(författare)
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Classic Psychedelics and Human–Animal Relations
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 19:13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research has found associations between classic psychedelic use and nature-relatedness, but the link between classic psychedelic use and human–animal relations remains largely unexplored. Using data representative of the US adult population, with regard to age, sex and ethnicity (N = 2822), this pre-registered study assessed lifetime classic psychedelic use, ego dissolution during respondents’ most intense experience using a classic psychedelic, and three measures related to human–animal relations: speciesism, animal solidarity and desire to help animals. The results showed that lifetime classic psychedelic use was negatively associated with speciesism (β = −0.07, p = 0.002), and positively associated with animal solidarity (β = 0.04, p = 0.041), but no association was found with desire to help animals (β = 0.01, p = 0.542). Ego dissolution during the respondents’ most intense experience using a classic psychedelic was negatively associated with speciesism (β = −0.17, p < 0.001), and positively associated with animal solidarity (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) and desire to help animals (β = 0.10, p = 0.007). The findings indicate that classic psychedelics and ego dissolution may have an impact on human–animal relations. As these results cannot demonstrate causality, however, future studies should use longitudinal research designs to further explore the potential causal link between classic psychedelic use and human–animal relations.
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| 7. |
- Simonsson, Otto, et al.
(författare)
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Adolescent Psychedelic Use and Psychotic or Manic Symptoms
- 2024
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Ingår i: JAMA psychiatry. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2168-6238 .- 2168-622X. ; 81:6, s. 579-585
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- IMPORTANCE: While psychedelic-assisted therapy has shown promise in the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders, little is known about the potential risk of psychotic or manic symptoms following naturalistic psychedelic use, especially among adolescents.OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between naturalistic psychedelic use and self-reported psychotic or manic symptoms in adolescents using a genetically informative design.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study included a large sample of adolescent twins (assessed at age 15, 18, and 24 years) born between July 1992 and December 2005 from the Swedish Twin Registry and cross-sectionally evaluated the associations between past psychedelic use and psychotic or manic symptoms at age 15 years. Individuals were included if they answered questions related to past use of psychedelics. Data were analyzed from October 2022 to November 2023.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome measures were self-reported psychotic and manic symptoms at age 15 years. Lifetime use of psychedelics and other drugs was also assessed at the same time point. RESULTS: Among the 16 255 participants included in the analyses, 8889 were female and 7366 were male. Among them, 541 participants reported past use of psychedelics, most of whom (535 of 541 [99%]) also reported past use of other drugs (ie, cannabis, stimulants, sedatives, opioids, inhalants, or performance enhancers). When adjusting for substance-specific and substance-aggregated drug use, psychedelic use was associated with reduced psychotic symptoms in both linear regression analyses (β, -0.79; 95% CI, -1.18 to -0.41 and β, -0.39; 95% CI, -0.50 to -0.27, respectively) and co-twin control analyses (β, -0.89; 95% CI, -1.61 to -0.16 and β, -0.24; 95% CI, -0.48 to -0.01, respectively). In relation to manic symptoms, likewise adjusting for substance-specific and substance-aggregated drug use, statistically significant interactions were found between psychedelic use and genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia (β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.32 and β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.32, respectively) or bipolar I disorder (β, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.36 and β, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.33, respectively).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings in this study suggest that, after adjusting for other drug use, naturalistic use of psychedelic may be associated with lower rates of psychotic symptoms among adolescents. At the same time, the association between psychedelic use and manic symptoms seems to be associated with genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder. These findings should be considered in light of the study's limitations and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
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| 8. |
- Simonsson, Otto, et al.
(författare)
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Altered states of leadership : mindfulness meditation, psychedelic use, and leadership development
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-1078. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Previous research suggests that mindfulness meditation and psychedelic substances show promise as mental health interventions, but relatively little remains known about their potential impact on leadership outcomes. Aims: This study aimed to investigate if and how mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use may impact leadership among respondents with a management position as their primary role at work. Methods: Using samples representative of the US and UK adult populations with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity, this study used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine if and how mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use may impact leadership. Results: Among respondents with a management position as their primary role at work (n = 3,150), 1,373 reported having tried mindfulness meditation and 559 reported having tried psychedelics. In covariate-adjusted regression analyses, both lifetime number of hours of mindfulness meditation practice and greater psychological insight during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience were associated with describing a positive impact on leadership (ORs = 2.33, 3.49; ps < 0.001), while qualitative analyses revealed nuances in the type of impacts mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use had on leadership. There were several subthemes (e.g., focus, creativity, patience, empathy, compassion) that were frequently reported with both mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use. There were also unique subthemes that were more commonly reported with mindfulness meditation (e.g., improved sleep, stress reduction, calming effects) and psychedelic use (e.g., greater self-understanding, less hierarchical attitudes toward colleagues, positive changes in interpersonal attitudes and behaviors), respectively. Conclusion: Although causality cannot be inferred due to the research design, the findings in this study suggest potential complementary effects of mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use on leadership, which could inspire new approaches in leadership development.
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| 9. |
- Simonsson, Otto, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the risk of symptom worsening in psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression : A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research. - : Elsevier. - 0165-1781 .- 1872-7123. ; 327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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.
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| 10. |
- Simonsson, Otto, et al.
(författare)
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Longitudinal associations between psychedelic use and meditation practices in the United States and the United Kingdom
- 2024
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Ingår i: Psychological Medicine. - 0033-2917 .- 1469-8978. ; 54:6, s. 1228-1234
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Previous research has proposed that there may be potential synergies between psychedelic and meditation interventions, but there are still knowledge gaps that merit further investigation. Methods: Using a longitudinal observational research design with samples representative of the US and UK adult population with regard to sex, age, and ethnicity (N = 9732), we investigated potential associations between self-reported psychedelic use and meditation practice. Results: The follow-up survey was completed by 7667 respondents (79% retention rate), with 100 respondents reporting psychedelic use during the 2-month study period (1.3% of follow-up respondents). In covariate-adjusted regression models, psychedelic use during the study period was associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness meditation practice in the past week (B = 0.40, p = 0.004). Among those who reported psychedelic use during the study period, covariate-adjusted regression models revealed that the subjective experience of insight during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in that period was also associated with greater increases in the number of days of mindfulness and loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week (B = 0.42, p = 0.021; B = 0.38, p = 0.017). Notably, more days of loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice in the past week at baseline was associated with less severe subjective feelings of death or dying during respondents' most intense psychedelic experience in the study period (B = -0.29, p = 0.037). Conclusions: Psychedelic use might lead to greater engagement with meditation practices such as mindfulness meditation, while meditation practices such as loving-kindness or compassion medication might buffer against certain challenging experiences associated with psychedelic use.
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