July 3, 2023
Hugh McGovern, Hilary Jane Grimmer, Manoj K. Doss et al.
12 citations
preprint
Psychedelics can reorient beliefs, but they may also lead to false insights and false beliefs. A review of laboratory research on false insights and false memories is connected to belief formation under psychedelics through the active inference framework. Psychedelics increase both the quantity and subjective intensity of insights and beliefs, including false ones. Future research should aim to minimize the risk of false and potentially harmful beliefs arising from psychedelics. Understanding this risk is crucial for safely leveraging the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.
September 15, 2021
Hugh McGovern, Pantelis Leptourgos, Brendan Hutchinson et al.
4 citations
preprint
Renewed interest in psychedelics has sparked debate about whether and how they alter human beliefs. In clinical and social-cognitive contexts, psychedelic use may lead to profound and sometimes lasting belief changes. Rather than creating entirely new beliefs, psychedelics may instead shift how affect and others' suggestions influence the way beliefs are formed. Baseline beliefs, such as expectations about psychedelics' effects, might color both acute experiences and longer-term changes. To harness psychedelics' potential for clinical use and human flourishing, these possibilities require empirical investigation.
May 26, 2024
Hugh McGovern, Nick Wellman, Brendan Hutchinson et al.
2 citations
preprint
Psychedelics such as psilocybin show promise for treating anxiety, but how they work is unclear. This review proposes a model where anxiety disorders involve the hippocampus biasing the amygdala and salience network toward anxiety-related information, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. Psychedelics temporarily free cortical networks from this hippocampal constraint, and increased plasticity afterward allows the hippocampus to integrate new information into a less biased contextual frame, reducing anxious thoughts. The model highlights that psychedelics can acutely increase anxiety, and future research should determine optimal treatment approaches informed by cognitive neuroscience.