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Psilocybin in long-term meditators: Effects on default mode network functional connectivity and retrospective ratings of qualitative experience

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... Few studies have explicitly explored the benefits of combining psychedelics with contemplative practices. The results of these studies suggest that combining psychedelics with meditation leads to stronger benefits of wellbeing beyond the effect of either practice in isolation (Barrett, Johnson, and Griffiths 2017;Griffiths et al. 2018). ...
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Both psychedelics and mindfulness are recently emerging topics of interest in academia and popular culture. The Prevalence of personal meditation practices and recreational psychedelic use has consistently increased in the past decade. While clinical work has shown both to improve long-term wellbeing, data on naturalistic applications of psychedelics and mindfulness are lacking. The current study examined the relationship between psychedelic use, mindfulness, and multi-faceted wellbeing as an outcome. Hierarchical regression was used to quantify these associations on a sample of people (N = 1,219) who engage in both meditation practices and psychedelic use. Results show that both mindfulness and mystical experiences are associated with substantial increases in wellbeing. Psychedelics were found to be a moderator of the relationship between mystical experience wellbeing. These data are among the first to establish a strong relationship between personal mindfulness practice, recreational psychedelic use, and overall psychological wellbeing in a naturalistic framework.
... Two more recent studies of the psychological and neurological effects of psilocybin in long-term meditators provide further compelling support. Barrett, Johnson, and Griffiths (2017) administered either a high dose of psilocybin or placebo to 16 meditators and found increased DMN RSFC in the psilocybin condition one day after the dose session. Participants who received psilocybin also reported greater meaning, spiritual significance, and psychological insight following the dose session. ...
... These drugs have been explored as stand-alone treatments, such as intravenous ketamine infusion therapies (Zarate et al., 2006), and as adjuncts to psychotherapy (Dore et al., 2019;Mithoefer et al., 2018;Rodriguez et al., 2016). To better understand its effects, psychedelics are also being given to meditators (Barrett et al., 2016). ...
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After decades of prohibition, scientific and academic inquiry into the psychedelic sciences has been reignited in the West. Alongside research, clinicians are being permitted to study the effects of psychedelic substances in humans, and the door has been opened to deliver psychedelic-assisted therapies for mental health needs. However, despite excitement for the professional use of psychedelics, there are few, if any, overarching principles regulating such studies and treatment approaches in Canada. To this end, experts in religious studies, psychiatry, clinical psychology, palliative care, anthropology, ethics, and legal studies assembled to assess the developing situation and form recommendations, as an initial step in laying the groundwork for therapeutic, spiritual, and research involvement/activities with psychedelics. This paper reviews the historical context of entheogens in indigenous traditions; a current view of the field in Canada; potential risks associated with psychedelic use; recommendations regarding ethical guidelines and education and training; and criteria for credentialing in psychedelic-assisted therapies. These recommendations comprise the first step in an essential process to connect science, education, varied entheogen and psychedelic practices and our government. The professional recommendations of the committee culminate in advising the creation of a National Advisory Council, adjunct to the Office of Controlled Substances, Health Canada, and a Credentialing Council adjunct to the National Advisory Council. These councils would advise on sustainability and management of entheogenic plants, and education, training, core clinical competencies, ethical codes of conduct, and credentialing for clinicians and practitioners seeking to provide psychedelic treatment to clients.
... Yet, despite the low dosages microdosing is still thought to provide a potential boost in cognition according to anecdotal reports (Cooke 2017;Gregorie 2016;Leonard 2015;Sahakian 2017;Senior 2017;Solon 2016). Moderate to large doses of psychedelics induce changes in perception, mood and overall consciousness, often described as qualitatively similar to deep meditative or transcendental states Barrett, Johnson and Griffiths 2017). If, similar yet milder effects apply to microdosing, this would render microdosing a potentially interesting cognitive enhancer in healthy individuals or even the basis of a treatment strategy to tackle various disorders including depression. ...
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Introduction: Recently popular sub-perceptual doses of psychedelic substances such as truffles, referred to as microdosing, allegedly have multiple beneficial effects including creativity and problem solving performance, potentially through targeting serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and promoting cognitive flexibility, crucial to creative thinking. Nevertheless, enhancing effects of microdosing remain anecdotal, and in the absence of quantitative research on microdosing psychedelics it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions on that matter. Here, our main aim was to quantitatively explore the cognitive-enhancing potential of microdosing psychedelics in healthy adults. Methods: During a microdosing event organized by the Dutch Psychedelic Society, we examined the effects of psychedelic truffles (which were later analyzed to quantify active psychedelic alkaloids) on two creativity-related problem-solving tasks: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking, and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. A short version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices task assessed potential changes in fluid intelligence. We tested once before taking a microdose and once while the effects were manifested. Results: We found that both convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected. Conclusion: While this study provides quantitative support for the cognitive enhancing properties of microdosing psychedelics, future research has to confirm these preliminary findings in more rigorous placebo-controlled study designs. Based on these preliminary results we speculate that psychedelics might affect cognitive metacontrol policies by optimizing the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility. We hope this study will motivate future microdosing studies with more controlled designs to test this hypothesis.
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Introduction Taking microdoses (a mere fraction of normal doses) of psychedelic substances, such as truffles, recently gained popularity, as it allegedly has multiple beneficial effects including creativity and problem-solving performance, potentially through targeting serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and promoting cognitive flexibility, crucial to creative thinking. Nevertheless, enhancing effects of microdosing remain anecdotal, and in the absence of quantitative research on microdosing psychedelics, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions on that matter. Here, our main aim was to quantitatively explore the cognitive-enhancing potential of microdosing psychedelics in healthy adults. Methods During a microdosing event organized by the Dutch Psychedelic Society, we examined the effects of psychedelic truffles (which were later analyzed to quantify active psychedelic alkaloids) on two creativity-related problem-solving tasks: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. A short version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices task assessed potential changes in fluid intelligence. We tested once before taking a microdose and once while the effects were expected to be manifested. Results We found that both convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected. Conclusion While this study provides quantitative support for the cognitive-enhancing properties of microdosing psychedelics, future research has to confirm these preliminary findings in more rigorous placebo-controlled study designs. Based on these preliminary results, we speculate that psychedelics might affect cognitive metacontrol policies by optimizing the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility. We hope this study will motivate future microdosing studies with more controlled designs to test this hypothesis.
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