Implications Of LSD and Experimental Mysticism

Pahnke, Walter N.; Richards, William A.

doi:10.1080/02791072.1970.10471366

Cited by 117 publications

(193 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This finding is consistent with prior research administering psilocybin to normal volunteers (Doblin, 1991; Griffiths et al, 2006, 2008, 2011; Pahnke, 1963). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…It has a well-established physiological and psychological safety profile in human laboratory and clinical trial research (Johnson et al, 2008), is not known to be addictive and may have anti-addictive properties (Bogenschutz and Johnson, 2016; Krebs and Johansen, 2012; Ross, 2012). It can produce highly salient spiritual/mystical states of consciousness associated with enduring (months to years) positive changes in cognition, affect, behavior, and spirituality (Doblin, 1991; Griffiths et al, 2006, 2008, 2011; Pahnke, 1963). From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, clinical research utilizing the serotoninergic psychedelics, primarily lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), to treat terminal cancer-related psychological and existential distress was conducted at major academic medical centers in the United States with a total of several hundred participants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial

et al. 2016

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Background:Clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer-related anxiety and depression.Methods:In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer-related anxiety and depression were randomly assigned and received treatment with single-dose psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) or niacin, both in conjunction with psychotherapy. The primary outcomes were anxiety and depression assessed between groups prior to the crossover at 7 weeks.Results:Prior to the crossover, psilocybin produced immediate, substantial, and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression and led to decreases in cancer-related demoralization and hopelessness, improved spiritual wellbeing, and increased quality of life. At the 6.5-month follow-up, psilocybin was associated with enduring anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects (approximately 60–80% of participants continued with clinically significant reductions in depression or anxiety), sustained benefits in existential distress and quality of life, as well as improved attitudes towards death. The psilocybin-induced mystical experience mediated the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on anxiety and depression.Conclusions:In conjunction with psychotherapy, single moderate-dose psilocybin produced rapid, robust and enduring anxiolytic and anti-depressant effects in patients with cancer-related psychological distress.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00957359

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“…This finding is consistent with prior research administering psilocybin to normal volunteers (Doblin, 1991; Griffiths et al, 2006, 2008, 2011; Pahnke, 1963). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial

et al. 2016

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“…As Shanon (2003) notes, case reports of chemically-induced synaesthesia are typically of the auditory-visual variety, particularly auditory-shape and auditory-color, as occurs with mescaline (Smythies, 1953; Klüver, 1966; Marks, 1975), LSD (Pahnke and Richards, 1966; McKenna, 1982; Hofmann, 1983), cannabis (Marks, 1975), and ayahuasca (Shanon, 2003; Fotiou, 2012). Such auditory imagery is sometimes reported to be dynamic in nature fluctuating with the sounds as they change (e.g., Pahnke and Richards, 1966; Hofmann, 1983), as when listening to music.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review

Luke

Terhune

2013

Front. Psychol.

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Despite the general consensus that synaesthesia emerges at an early developmental stage and is only rarely acquired during adulthood, the transient induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents has been frequently reported in research on different psychoactive substances. Nevertheless, these effects remain poorly understood and have not been systematically incorporated. Here we review the known published studies in which chemical agents were observed to elicit synaesthesia. Across studies there is consistent evidence that serotonin agonists elicit transient experiences of synaesthesia. Despite convergent results across studies, studies investigating the induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents have numerous methodological limitations and little experimental research has been conducted. Cumulatively, these studies implicate the serotonergic system in synaesthesia and have implications for the neurochemical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon but methodological limitations in this research area preclude making firm conclusions regarding whether chemical agents can induce genuine synaesthesia.

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“…More specifically, we found a strong association between the total NDE score and the MEQ factors ‘ Mystical ’ and ‘ Transcendence of Time and Space.’ The Mystical factor corresponds to items pertaining to an experience of unity or continuity between self/ego and the external world (known elsewhere as ‘dissolved ego-boundaries’- Nour et al, 2016), an intuitive feeling of so-called ‘sacredness’, and the experience of gaining insights into ‘ultimate truths’. The factor Transcendence of Time and Space corresponds to experiences of loss of one’s usual spatial and temporal orientation and a sense of vastness, continuity and eternity (Pahnke and Richards, 1970; Maclean et al, 2013). The strong overlap between these facets of mystical-type and NDEs may be due to similar items featuring in both scales (e.g., items pertaining changes in time perception, experiences of unity, feelings of peace) which could be seen as evidence of their strong phenomenological overlap – but there are also some items that are distinct between the scales, e.g., feelings of being separated from one’s one body, encountering beings or presences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DMT Models the Near-Death Experience

et al. 2018

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Near-death experiences (NDEs) are complex subjective experiences, which have been previously associated with the psychedelic experience and more specifically with the experience induced by the potent serotonergic, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Potential similarities between both subjective states have been noted previously, including the subjective feeling of transcending one’s body and entering an alternative realm, perceiving and communicating with sentient ‘entities’ and themes related to death and dying. In this within-subjects placebo-controled study we aimed to test the similarities between the DMT state and NDEs, by administering DMT and placebo to 13 healthy participants, who then completed a validated and widely used measure of NDEs. Results revealed significant increases in phenomenological features associated with the NDE, following DMT administration compared to placebo. Also, we found significant relationships between the NDE scores and DMT-induced ego-dissolution and mystical-type experiences, as well as a significant association between NDE scores and baseline trait ‘absorption’ and delusional ideation measured at baseline. Furthermore, we found a significant overlap in nearly all of the NDE phenomenological features when comparing DMT-induced NDEs with a matched group of ‘actual’ NDE experiencers. These results reveal a striking similarity between these states that warrants further investigation.

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Implications Of LSD and Experimental Mysticism

Cited by 117 publications

References 13 publications

Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial

Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial

The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review

DMT Models the Near-Death Experience

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