CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 97Psychedelics and Drug StudiesMusic Therapy and HealthPsychotherapy Techniques and Applications

Set and setting: a randomized study of different musical genres in supporting psychedelic therapy

Open access
Strickland, Justin C., Garcia-Romeu, Albert, Johnson, Matthew W.·2021·ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
DOI 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00187PMC PMC8033606

Published version of a preprint

Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Abstract Mounting evidence supports the serotonin 2A receptor agonist psilocybin as a psychiatric pharmacotherapy. Little research has experimentally examined how session “set and setting” impacts subjective and therapeutic effects. We analyzed the effects of the musical genre played during sessions of a psilocybin study for tobacco smoking cessation. Participants (N = 10) received psilocybin (20–30 mg/70 kg) in two sessions, each with a different musical genre (Western classical versus overtone-based), with the order counterbalanced. Participants chose one genre for a third session (30 mg/70 kg). Mystical experiences scores tended to be higher in overtone-based sessions than in Western classical sessions. Six of ten participants chose the overtone-based music for a third session. Biologically confirmed smoking abstinence was similar based on musical choice, with a slight benefit for participants choosing the overtone-based playlist (66.7% versus 50%). These data call into question whether Western classical music typically used in psychedelic therapy holds a unique benefit. Broadly, we call for experimentally examining session components toward optimizing psychedelic therapeutic protocols.

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 · 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00187

Cites

31 of 31 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?

  • Contextual factors, such as the environment in which the experience takes place (setting), the mindset of the individual (set), and the support available after the experience (integration and setting), have a huge impact on the effects of psychedelics.

    “Contextual factors, such as the environment in which the experience takes place (setting), the mindset of the individual (set), and the support available after the experience (integration and setting), have a huge impact on the effects of psychedelics (85–88).”

    From Potential therapeutic effects of an ayahuasca-inspired N,N-DMT and harmine formulation: a controlled trial in healthy subjects (2024) · cites this paper as [88]

    The paper’s introductory discussion (page unavailable) calls mindset and environment central to psychedelic effects. It also reports an association between greater support and improved wellbeing, but says post-session support varied alongside dose and preparation. It therefore does not establish that support after the experience has a huge, independent impact. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Set and setting are well-known to influence the subjective effects of psychedelics.

    “set and setting are well-known to influence the subjective effects of psychedelics”

    From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [297]

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

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Strickland, J. C., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Johnson, M. W.
Affiliations
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , , 5510 Nathan Shock Drive , , ,
Corresponding author
Johnson, Matthew W.
ORCID
Venue
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Published
2020-12-29
Volume
4
Issue
2
Pages
472-478
ISSN
2575-9108 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1021/acsptsci.0c00187
PMC
PMC8033606
OpenAlex
W3117921577
Cited by
97
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 8
FWCI
3.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Heffter Research Institute
  • Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation
  • Beckley Foundation
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32-DA07209)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Keywords
psilocybin, set and setting, music genres, classical music, psychedelic therapy, smoking cessation, mystical experience, smoking abstinence, music selection

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