The Induction of Dissociative States: A Meta-Analysis.
Biological psychiatry global open science July 1, 2025 Benjamin Brake, Lillian Wieder, Natasha Hughes et al. 5 citations
Dissociative states—disruptions in awareness and perception—occur across many psychiatric conditions and can be modeled in the lab. A meta-analysis of 123 studies (6,692 individuals) measured state dissociation using a standardized scale. At baseline, the largest effects were in dissociative and complex subtypes of posttraumatic stress disorder. In controlled experiments, mirror gazing and several drugs, particularly ketamine and cannabis, induced dissociation as high as or higher than that seen in PTSD. Results were highly variable across studies but not explained by methodological differences. These findings validate experimental methods for inducing dissociation and inform monitoring of adverse events in drug-based interventions.