Zeifman Richard, Danias George, Agin-Liebes Gabrielle, Pagni Broc, Kettner Hannes, Bhat Venkat, Ross Stephen, Erritzoe David, Carhart-Harris Robin
Res Sq. 2025 Aug 22:rs.3.rs-7420529. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7420529/v1.
Psychedelics can acutely induce mystical experiences and elevated positive mood, which may contribute to the potential benefits of psychedelic therapy. However, there remains limited understanding of the occurrence and importance of specific positive emotional experiences within psychedelic therapy. Therefore, we examined the effects of psychedelics on positive emotional experiences and their association with improvements in mental health. : Study 1 was an observational study of naturalistic psychedelic use. Study 2 used data from a clinical trial that compared psilocybin with escitalopram in individuals with major depressive disorder. In this trial, participants completed two dosing sessions, where they received either 25mg or 1mg of psilocybin. In both studies, following their psychedelic experience or psilocybin dosing sessions, participants rated their acute experiences of seven specific positive emotional experiences (self-compassion, compassion toward others, gratitude, love, awe, ecstasy, and peace). Relative to low-dose psychedelic, medium and high-dose psychedelic use were associated with greater positive emotional experiences. Relative to 1mg psilocybin, 25mg psilocybin was associated with greater positive emotional experiences. Several positive emotional experiences predicted improvements in mental health and mediated treatment outcomes, with the strongest evidence for the effect of self-compassion (over and above mystical experience and positive mood). Positive emotional experiences, especially self-compassion, appear to play an important role within psychedelic therapy. Based on these findings, we highlight key considerations surrounding psychotherapeutic approaches to, and optimization of, psychedelic therapy. Future research should move beyond retrospective, self-reports of emotional experiences to fully capture their role within psychedelic therapy.
迷幻药能迅速诱发神秘体验并提升积极情绪，这可能是迷幻药疗法潜在益处的原因所在。然而，对于迷幻药疗法中特定积极情绪体验的发生情况及重要性，人们的了解仍然有限。因此，我们研究了迷幻药对积极情绪体验的影响及其与心理健康改善之间的关联。研究1是一项关于自然使用迷幻药的观察性研究。研究2使用了一项临床试验的数据，该试验比较了裸盖菇素与艾司西酞普兰对重度抑郁症患者的疗效。在该试验中，参与者完成了两个给药疗程，分别接受25毫克或1毫克的裸盖菇素。在两项研究中，参与者在经历迷幻体验或完成裸盖菇素给药疗程后，对七种特定积极情绪体验（自我同情、对他人的同情、感恩、爱、敬畏、狂喜和平和）的即时体验进行了评分。与低剂量迷幻药相比，中高剂量迷幻药的使用与更强烈的积极情绪体验相关。与1毫克裸盖菇素相比，25毫克裸盖菇素与更强烈的积极情绪体验相关。几种积极情绪体验预示着心理健康的改善并介导了治疗效果，其中自我同情的效果证据最为充分（超越了神秘体验和积极情绪）。积极情绪体验，尤其是自我同情，似乎在迷幻药疗法中发挥着重要作用。基于这些发现，我们强调了围绕迷幻药疗法的心理治疗方法及优化的关键考虑因素。未来的研究应超越对情绪体验的回顾性自我报告，以充分捕捉它们在迷幻药疗法中的作用。
