Assessment of the Acute Effects of 2C‐B vs. Psilocybin on Subjective Experience, Mood, and Cognition
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics – May 30, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
While the hallucinogen 2C-B, derived from mescaline, impacts cognition similarly to psilocybin, its psychological effects differ. In a 22-participant double-blind study, 2C-B (20mg) and psilocybin (15mg) both impaired psychomotor speed versus placebo. Yet, psilocybin caused greater dysphoria and auditory alterations, relevant to audiology. As a serotonergic compound, 2C-B’s effects resolved within six hours. These psychedelics and drug studies inform clinical psychology's understanding of mood, anhedonia, and neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior, crucial for developmental psychology insights.
Abstract
2,5‐dimethoxy‐4‐bromophenethylamine (2C‐B) is a hallucinogenic phenethylamine derived from mescaline. Observational and preclinical data have suggested it to be capable of producing both subjective and emotional effects on par with other classical psychedelics and entactogens. Whereas it is the most prevalently used novel serotonergic hallucinogen to date, it's acute effects and distinctions from classical progenitors have yet to be characterized in a controlled study. We assessed for the first time the immediate acute subjective, cognitive, and cardiovascular effects of 2C‐B (20 mg) in comparison to psilocybin (15 mg) and placebo in a within‐subjects, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study of 22 healthy psychedelic‐experienced participants. 2C‐B elicited alterations of waking consciousness of a psychedelic nature, with dysphoria, subjective impairment, auditory alterations, and affective elements of ego dissolution largest under psilocybin. Participants demonstrated equivalent psychomotor slowing and spatial memory impairments under either compound compared with placebo, as indexed by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Tower of London, and Spatial Memory Task. Neither compound produced empathogenic effects on the Multifaceted Empathy Test. 2C‐B induced transient pressor effects to a similar degree as psilocybin. The duration of self‐reported effects of 2C‐B was shorter than that of psilocybin, largely resolving within 6 hours. Present findings support the categorization of 2C‐B as a psychedelic of moderate experiential depth at doses given. Tailored dose‐effect studies are needed to discern the pharmacokinetic dependency of 2C‐B's experiential overlaps.