Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 14, 2016
Matthew M. Nour, Lisa Evans, David Nutt et al.
476 citations
A new questionnaire, the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI), reliably measures the experience of ego-dissolution—a temporary loss of the sense of self—during psychedelic drug use. The EDI shows strong psychometric properties, including internal consistency and construct validity, and its scores closely relate to the subjective psychedelic experience. This tool enables researchers to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying ego-dissolution, which may inform psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and improve understanding of psychosis.
Psychopharmacology
February 1, 2018
Mendel Kaelen, Bruna Giribaldi, Jordan Raine et al.
274 citations
Music plays a central therapeutic role in psychedelic therapy with psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. In interviews with 19 patients, music had both welcome influences—evoking meaningful emotion, mental imagery, guidance, openness, calm, and safety—and unwelcome influences, such as unpleasant emotion, imagery, and resistance. Patients' experience of the music correlated with mystical experiences and insightfulness. Critically, the nature of the music experience significantly predicted reductions in depression one week after psilocybin, whereas general drug intensity did not.
J Psychoactive Drugs
April 26, 2017
Matthew M. Nour, Lisa Evans, Robin L. Carhart-Harris
230 citations
People who have used psychedelics in natural settings tend to hold more liberal and less authoritarian political views, score higher on the personality trait of openness, and feel more connected to nature, even after accounting for other drug use and potential confounders. The degree of ego dissolution during a person's most intense psychedelic experience also predicts these same outcomes. The findings come from an anonymous internet survey of 893 participants who reported their lifetime use of psychedelics, cocaine, and alcohol, and completed measures of personality, nature relatedness, and political attitudes. Cocaine use and weekly alcohol consumption did not show the same associations.
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2018
Mendel Kaelen, Bruna Giribaldi, Jordan Raine et al.
9 citations
correction
Music plays a central role in psychedelic therapy by helping to guide and support the therapeutic process. The article synthesizes evidence that music can influence emotional states, facilitate psychological insights, and enhance the overall therapeutic outcome when combined with psychedelic substances. The authors argue that music acts as a "hidden therapist" by directing the trajectory of the psychedelic experience, promoting emotional release, and supporting the integration of the experience afterward. This suggests that careful selection and use of music is crucial for optimizing the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic therapy.