Effects of Psychedelic Drug Use on Neurocognitive Function and Psychological and Social Quality of Life Domains: An International Online Study
Franziska Stadler, Johan Saelens, Ioline D. Henter, Nathalie M. Rieser, Maximillian Greenwald, Elizabeth D. Ballard, Katrin H. Preller, Carlos A. Zarate, Christoph Kraus
medRxiv August 28, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.27.25334164 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAn international online study of 759 people examined how psychedelic drug use affects cognitive performance and mental health in the short and long term. Participants completed tasks measuring working memory, selective attention, and visual/spatial perception, plus questionnaires on mental health and quality of life. Recent users showed significantly lower accuracy on all cognitive tasks and reported more depressive and dissociative symptoms. Lifetime users had the highest task accuracy without slower reaction times, and their use was not linked to long-term cognitive decline. However, lifetime users scored lower on psychological and social quality of life domains, suggesting possible long-term psychosocial effects.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Longitudinal |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 759 |
| Population | International online adults who reported psychedelic drug use status |
| Keywords | Neurocognitive Quality philosophy Function biology Drug Social function |
| Key finding | Recent psychedelic use is associated with lower cognitive accuracy and more depressive symptoms, while lifetime use shows no cognitive decline but lower psychosocial quality of life. |
Abstract
This international online study (N=759) examined the acute, subacute, and long-term effects of psychedelic drug use on cognitive performance and mental health. Participants completed cognitive tasks assessing working memory, selective attention, and visual/spatial perception, as well as questionnaires assessing mental health outcomes and quality of life. Based on self-reported substance use, participants were classified as non-users, lifetime users, and recent users. Recent users had significantly lower accuracy across all cognitive tasks, and lifetime users had the highest task accuracy without corresponding reaction time deficits. Lifetime use was not associated with long-term cognitive decline. Recent users reported more depressive and dissociative symptoms, whereas lifetime users reported lower scores. Lifetime users scored lower on psychological and social quality of life domains, indicating possible long-term psychosocial effects. These findings highlight the need to differentiate between the acute and long-term effects of psychedelics; lab-controlled, longitudinal studies are needed to enable safe clinical application.