Cited by 932Psychedelics and Drug StudiesParanormal Experiences and BeliefsReligion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects

Open access
Griffiths, Roland R., Johnson, Matthew W., Richards, William A., Richards, Brian D., McCann, Una, Jesse, Robert·2011·Psychopharmacology

Abstract

RationaleThis dose-effect study extends previous observations showing that psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior.ObjectivesThis double-blind study evaluated psilocybin (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 mg/70 kg, p.o.) administered under supportive conditions.MethodsParticipants were 18 adults (17 hallucinogen-naïve). Five 8-h sessions were conducted individually for each participant at 1-month intervals. Participants were randomized to receive the four active doses in either ascending or descending order (nine participants each). Placebo was scheduled quasi-randomly. During sessions, volunteers used eyeshades and were instructed to direct their attention inward. Volunteers completed questionnaires assessing effects immediately after and 1 month after each session, and at 14 months follow-up.ResultsPsilocybin produced acute perceptual and subjective effects including, at 20 and/or 30 mg/70 kg, extreme anxiety/fear (39% of volunteers) and/or mystical-type experience (72% of volunteers). One month after sessions at the two highest doses, volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as having substantial personal and spiritual significance, and attributed to the experience sustained positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior, with the ascending dose sequence showing greater positive effects. At 14 months, ratings were undiminished and were consistent with changes rated by community observers. Both the acute and persisting effects of psilocybin were generally a monotonically increasing function of dose, with the lowest dose showing significant effects.ConclusionsUnder supportive conditions, 20 and 30 mg/70 kg psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences having persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior. Implications for therapeutic trials are discussed.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s00213-011-2358-5

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • High MEQ30 scores predict changes in personality-trait openness and positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior.

    “High MEQ-30 scores have also been found to predict changes in personality-trait openness (MacLean et al., 2012) and positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior (Griffiths et al., 2011).”

    From Assessment of the acute subjective psychedelic experience: A review of patient-reported outcome measures in clinical research on classical psychedelics (2024) · cites this paper as Griffiths et al., 2011

    The Discussion (page unavailable in our copy) reports persisting positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior after psilocybin sessions. The Methods describe a 43-item mystical-experience measure, but the paper does not establish that high MEQ-30 scores predict those changes. The openness finding is attributed to MacLean et al., not to this source. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Psychedelic-induced mystical-type experiences and ego dissolution correlate with long-term positive outcomes.

    “it has been repeatedly found that psychedelic-induced mystical-type experiences and ego dissolution, the latter a phenomenon characterized by the reduction in self-referential awareness, disruption self-world boundaries, and increased feelings of unity with one’s surroundings (55), correlates with long-term (positive) outcomes (23, 52–54, 56–58).”

    From Decreases in State and Trait Anxiety Post-psilocybin: A Naturalistic, Observational Study Among Retreat Attendees (2022) · cites this paper as [57]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experiences alongside positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior sustained at 14 months. The paper does not establish a separate correlation between ego dissolution and long-term outcomes, or report a direct correlation between mystical-experience intensity and those outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In Griffiths et al., compared to the active placebo group, both groups which received a high dose of psilocybin reported significantly higher enhancements in mood, well-being and life satisfaction, as assessed by the Persisting Effects Questionnaire.

    “Compared to the active placebo group, both groups which received a high dose of psilocybin reported significantly higher enhancements in mood, well-being and life satisfaction, as assessed by the Persisting Effects Questionnaire (87).”

    From Examining the Potential Synergistic Effects Between Mindfulness Training and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (2021) · cites this paper as [87]

    The Results section on persisting effects one month after sessions reports significant dose-related increases in positive mood and well-being/life satisfaction on the Persisting Effects Questionnaire, including effects at the higher doses in both dose-sequence groups. However, the Drug conditions section identifies the comparison as an inactive lactose placebo, not an active placebo; the reported significance also does not establish that each group separately differed significantly from placebo on both outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Phase I and II studies suggest a dose-dependent effect on the quality of the psychedelic experience.

    “phase I and II studies suggest a dose-dependent effect on the quality of the psychedelic experience [54, 76]”
  • A 5 mg dose of psilocybin was shown to induce subjective changes significantly greater than those of an inert placebo.

    “5 mg of psilocybin was shown to induce subjective changes significantly greater than those of an inert placebo; [76]”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Metzner R Teonanacatl: sacred mushroom of visions 2004 Four Tree Press El Verano, CA
  2. Metzner R Litwin G Weil G The relation of expectation and mood to psilocybin reactions: a questionnaire study Psychedelic Review 1965 5 3 39
  3. Pahnke W Drugs and mysticism: An analysis of the relationship between psychedelic drugs and the mystical consciousness Thesis presented to the President and Fellows of Harvard University for the Ph.D. in Religion and Society 1963
  4. VandeCreek L Hill PC Hood RW Jr The Death Transcendence Scale Measures of Religiosity 1999 Religious Education Press 442 445 Birmingham AL

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., McCann, U., & Jesse, R.
Affiliations
Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Griffiths, Roland R.
Venue
Psychopharmacology
Published
2011-06-15
Volume
218
Issue
4
Pages
649-665
ISSN
  • 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2072
OpenAlex
W2001101493
Cited by
932
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 59 · 2025: 97 · 2024: 115 · 2023: 110 · 2022: 107 · 2021: 94 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 65 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 51 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 14
FWCI
20.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA003889, R01DA03889)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Keywords
psilocybin, dose-response relationship, fear and anxiety, long-term psychological effects, psychedelic therapy
MeSH terms
Adult, Affect, Attitude, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Hallucinogens, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psilocybin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Time Factors, Cross-Over Studies, Spirituality

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review