The effects of psilocybin on time perception in humans: A comparative analysis of subjective and objective measures
Journal of Psychopharmacology January 1, 2026 Petr Scholle, Štěpán Wenke, Tereza Nekovářová et al. 1 citation
Under psilocybin, healthy volunteers perceived time as moving more slowly and their temporal precision decreased, particularly for intervals longer than 2 seconds. In a double-blinded placebo-controlled study with 24 participants, the bisection point shifted rightward, indicating subjective time slowing, and the just noticeable difference increased, reflecting reduced accuracy. These changes were captured both by performance on the Temporal Bisection Task and by self-report scales. The findings suggest psilocybin disrupts cognitive functions such as working memory and attention, altering time perception through serotonergic system involvement.