Neuroscience Letters
December 10, 2004
Pehr Granqvist, Mats Fredrikson, Patrik Unge et al.
189 citations
A double-blind experiment with 89 participants found no evidence that weak, complex waveform transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) fields evoke a sensed presence of a sentient being, mystical experiences, or other somatosensory effects. The magnetic fields tested were about one million times weaker than ordinary TMS fields. Although earlier claims reported such effects in up to 80% of the general population, this replication found no effects in the entire group or in individuals high in suggestibility. Personality characteristics—absorption, signs of abnormal temporal lobe activity, and a new-age lifestyle orientation—significantly predicted outcomes, suggesting that suggestibility, not the magnetic fields, may account for previously reported effects. These results strongly question earlier claims.
The Journal of psychology
July 1, 2006
Pehr Granqvist, Marcus Larsson
31 citations
A double-blind experiment tested whether weak, complex magnetic fields evoke mystical experiences, finding no effect of field exposure on such experiences among 89 participants, though a minority reported spontaneous mystical experiences. Reanalyzing the data, higher religiousness predicted more mystical experiences with a religious quality, but not those without. The experimental setup, including pre-assessments of religiousness and sensory deprivation, may have acted as a prime that activated religious schemas in religious participants.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 5, 2024
Aaron D. Cherniak, Mario Mikulincer, Joel Gruneau Brulin et al.
7 citations
People who recall insecure early attachment with parents report more intense psychedelic experiences—mystical, challenging, emotional breakthrough, ego dissolution, and sensed presence—during their most memorable psychedelic session. However, current adult attachment styles (anxiety and avoidance) are unrelated to the intensity of those experiences. The subjective features of naturalistic psychedelic use do not typically weaken the connection between a perceived insecure attachment history and current attachment insecurity. The study surveyed 185 Jewish adults online who had used psychedelics.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
May 30, 2025
Esenia K. Cassidy, David Dupuis, Christopher Timmermann et al.
4 citations
Attachment patterns and psychedelic use jointly influence worldview transformations and enculturation processes. Both may operate through common mechanisms: heightened epistemic trust at the psychological level and heightened serotonin 2a receptor-binding with associated hyper-plastic states at the neural level. The synthesis draws on attachment-religion research, anthropological studies of Ayahuasca use in shamanic tourism, and preliminary attachment-psychedelics research. Future research directions and ethical considerations for psychedelic-assisted therapies and cross-cultural research are outlined.
December 25, 2021
Aaron D. Cherniak, Joel Gruneau Brulin, Mario Mikulincer et al.
4 citations
preprint
Combining attachment theory with the REBUS model offers a framework for understanding how psychedelic experiences can reshape spiritual and religious beliefs. Attachment theory holds that early caregiving relationships create internal working models that act as mental templates for later interpersonal and divine relationships. Psychedelic therapy may work by loosening rigid, defensive mental patterns—such as insecure attachment to others or God—while corrective relational experiences with a therapist or others amplify this effect. Three research proposals are outlined: individual attachment security predicts how people experience and integrate psychedelic sessions; effective psychedelic therapy should increase attachment security as a measurable outcome; and attachment-related processes—like feeling connected to others or God and reducing attachment-related anxieties—are key mechanisms in psychedelic treatment's clinical benefits.
The Oxford Handbook of Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences
December 18, 2024
Aaron D. Cherniak, Robin Carhart-Harris, Joel Gruneau Brulin et al.
2 citations
A theoretical synthesis of attachment theory and the REBUS neuroscientific model offers an organizing framework for psychedelic science. Attachment theory holds that people develop internal working models (IWMs) of relational experiences that function as predictive models shaping social and emotional worlds. Effective psychedelic interventions may induce a hyper-plastic neural state that, supported by corrective relational experiences, facilitates rapid learning and revision of IWMs toward greater security. Three proposals guide future research: individual differences in attachment security predict psychedelic phenomenology and integration; increasing attachment security may be a clinical outcome; and clinical utility involves attachment-related dynamics such as connectedness and alleviation of worries.
Psychedelics
June 28, 2026
Joost J. Breeksema, Ulf Bremberg, Jens H. van Dalfsen et al.
Psychedelic therapies face layered complexity from interactions between pharmacological and extra-pharmacological factors, and their embeddedness in societal, legal, and regulatory systems. This is compounded by epistemic fragmentation: dominant biomedical paradigms often clash with knowledge from social sciences, humanities, or Indigenous traditions. Though interdisciplinary engagement is increasingly recognized as necessary, existing calls rarely specify structural or pedagogical conditions for operationalizing it. Addressing these complexities requires moving beyond superficial collaboration; genuine interdisciplinary progress needs researchers capable of productive friction across epistemic cultures. The authors propose cultivating T-shaped competencies and intersectoral training as a structural response to these systemic challenges.
October 27, 2025
Aaron D. Cherniak, Pehr Granqvist, Mario Mikulincer et al.
preprint
Life stress increases the likelihood of challenging experiences with psychedelics, which can lead to poorer outcomes. An international online survey of 1,867 psychedelic users found that a therapeutic context weakened the link between stressful life events and challenging experiences, and between challenging experiences and coping, but not other associations. The degree of perceived therapeutic support moderated how challenging experiences affected their valence, impact on coping, and impact on well-being. In other models, therapeutic support had independent effects but no interaction. These findings suggest therapeutic context and support are important for reducing harm in both clinical and naturalistic psychedelic use.
Aaron D. Cherniak, Joel Gruneau Brulin, Sebastian Ostlind et al.
preprint
Our early relationships profoundly shape how we connect with others and the divine. This framework proposes that psychedelics could help relax rigid mental patterns formed by these foundational experiences. It suggests an individual's attachment security influences their psychedelic journey, and that effective psychedelic therapy may actually boost this security. The process involves fostering a deeper sense of connection and easing worries, enhancing treatment benefits.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
March 14, 2026
Aaron D Cherniak, Pehr Granqvist, Mario Mikulincer et al.
Life stress increases the likelihood of challenging psychedelic experiences, which can lead to poorer outcomes. An online survey of 1,867 international psychedelic users tested whether therapeutic-like contexts and support moderate these links. Therapeutic-like context reduced the association between stressful life events and challenging experiences, and between challenging experiences and coping, but not other associations. The degree of therapeutic-like support moderated the association of challenging experiences with valence, impact on coping, and impact on well-being. In other models, therapeutic-like support had independent effects but no interaction effects. These findings suggest that therapeutic context and support can buffer the negative effects of life stress on psychedelic experiences and outcomes.
Religions
April 27, 2023
Anja L. Winter, Pehr Granqvist
Attachment theory can help explain how people think about religion and spirituality in bodily, physical ways—through metaphors, rituals, and imagining God or spirits as attachment figures. Embodied cognition also plays a role in mystical experiences and altered states, whether inside or outside religious settings. The term religiospiritual cognition is proposed to capture this broader view. The paper reviews attachment theory, connects it to embodied religious and spiritual thought, and suggests future research directions. Psychedelic science is highlighted as a promising area for studying how attachment relates to embodied religiospiritual cognition.