Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 30, 2019
Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Mitch Earleywine
47 citations
Ayahuasca, a plant-based hallucinogen used as a spiritual medicine in South America, has shown antidepressant effects in at least one placebo-controlled trial, but the mechanisms remain unclear. A survey of 152 individuals examined changes in depressive symptoms, behavioral activation, and mindfulness after an Ayahuasca experience. Mindfulness was strongly linked to reduced depression severity, but behavioral activation—engaging in rewarding activities—was a stronger predictor of improvement. Changes in behavioral activation likely serve as a mechanism underlying Ayahuasca's antidepressant effects, suggesting future clinical trials could benefit from tracking behavioral activation.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
March 28, 2021
Mitch Earleywine, Luna F. Ueno, Maha N. Mian et al.
36 citations
High doses of cannabis can produce subjective effects similar to those of the psychedelic psilocybin, but at a lower rate. In a survey, 17–19% of cannabis users reported a “breakthrough” experience, compared to 59% in psilocybin clinical trials. Heavier cannabis users reported lower scores. These effects may parallel the therapeutic benefits seen with psilocybin, suggesting potential for cannabis-assisted psychotherapy.
Journal of Psychopharmacology
December 4, 2023
Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Fiona Low et al.
8 citations
A new 32-item scale, the Protective Strategies for Psychedelics Scale (PSPS), measures strategies people use to reduce harm when taking psychedelics. Two factors emerged: long-term preparation (mood, setting, scheduling) and short-term preparation (social context, health, other substances). The scale showed excellent reliability and was strongly correlated with existing protective behavior scales for cannabis and alcohol, and moderately with lifetime psychedelic use. The authors call for further validation in diverse samples.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
September 22, 2023
Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian, Joseph A. de Leo
5 citations
Expectations about psychedelics are understudied despite their powerful subjective effects. In over 500 people who have used psilocybin, expectancies about antidepressant effects correlated with specific subjective experiences—mystical experiences, ego dissolution, and emotional breakthrough—that previous work linked to depression improvement. Current depressive symptoms, ego dissolution, and emotional breakthrough each predicted unique variance in expected antidepressant effects, but mystical experience expectancies did not. Demographic factors and general hallucinogen involvement showed only weak correlations. These findings suggest that psilocybin users hold relevant expectancies about subjective and antidepressant effects, which could influence treatment outcomes and deserve monitoring in clinical trials.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
March 12, 2020
Brianna R. Altman, Maha N. Mian, Mitch Earleywine
4 citations
Ayahuasca users expect its effects to differ from those of other hallucinogens like LSD or psilocybin in several ways, including stronger positive connections to nature and other people, more dramatic or terrifying thoughts, greater variability of effects, and distinct physical reactions. Among 139 experienced users surveyed online, intentions to use ayahuasca again increased when they expected positive connections but decreased when they expected physical reactions. One version of a scale measuring the novelty of ayahuasca effects predicted a preference for ayahuasca over other hallucinogens, while another version did not, indicating a need for further research. Understanding these expectancies may help guide choices among hallucinogens for therapeutic use.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 19, 2021
Cody Gilbert, Mitch Earleywine, Maha N. Mian et al.
3 citations
Ayahuasca affects some depressive symptoms more than others. In a retrospective survey of over 120 participants who used ayahuasca, affective symptoms such as hope, depressed mood, and happiness improved more than cognitive, interpersonal, and somatic symptoms like restless sleep, loneliness, and difficulty focusing. This pattern of symptom specificity resembles that of serotonergic antidepressant medications. People seeking relief from affective symptoms may find ayahuasca more helpful, while those targeting sleep, loneliness, or concentration problems may benefit less. The rapid onset of relief could also be useful for jumpstarting psychotherapy.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
August 4, 2025
Meredith C. Meacham, Maha N. Mian, Ralph C. Wang et al.
2 citations
Among U.S. adults who have ever used a hallucinogen, four distinct patterns of lifetime use emerge: a group primarily using psilocybin (16%), a larger group using both LSD and psilocybin (46%), a group mainly using ecstasy (23%), and a group using multiple hallucinogens (15%). Older age is associated with higher odds of being in the LSD/psilocybin class compared with the psilocybin-only class, and non-White participants have higher odds of being in the ecstasy class. These overlapping use patterns suggest that clinical trials and future policies should account for polysubstance hallucinogen experiences.