Psychedelic drug use and schizotypy in young adults
Scientific Reports July 23, 2021 Alexander V. Lebedev, Kasim Acar, Benjamín Garzón et al. 19 citations
Psychedelic drug use shows only a weak association with psychosis-like symptoms, largely explained by psychiatric comorbidities and use of other psychoactive substances. In a study of 1,032 adults (701 healthy young adults aged 18–35), psychedelic users had slightly higher schizotypy scores, but the effect was small and not significant after controlling for other drug use. Experimental testing in 39 subjects found that greater lifetime psychedelic exposure was linked to better evidence integration and heightened fear responses to instructed knowledge in a learning task, suggesting possible therapeutic effects on flexibility and aversive learning in non-psychotic populations.