Effects of psilocybin therapy on personality structure
David Erritzøe, Leor Roseman, Matthew M. Nour, Keir Maclean, Mendel Kaelen, D.j. Nutt, Robin Carhart‐Harris
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica June 19, 2018 DOI: 10.1111/acps.12904 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractIn patients with treatment-resistant depression, psilocybin therapy was associated with a decrease in neuroticism and increases in extraversion and openness three months later. These personality shifts moved toward normative population averages and were predicted by the degree of insight experienced during the psilocybin session. Conscientiousness showed trend-level increases, while agreeableness did not change. The pattern partly resembles changes seen with conventional antidepressants, but the pronounced rises in extraversion and openness may be more specific to psychedelic therapy.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Open-label study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Patients with moderate or severe, unipolar, treatment-resistant depression |
| Intervention | Psilocybin with psychological support |
| Dose | 10 and 25 mg, one week apart |
| Duration | 3-month follow-up |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Neuroticism Extraversion and introversion Clinical psychology Agreeableness |
| Citations | 268 |
| Key finding | Neuroticism decreased and extraversion increased following psilocybin therapy, with openness also increasing, and these changes were predicted by the degree of insightfulness during the psilocybin session. |
Abstract
Objective To explore whether psilocybin with psychological support modulates personality parameters in patients suffering from treatment‐resistant depression (TRD). Method Twenty patients with moderate or severe, unipolar, TRD received oral psilocybin (10 and 25 mg, one week apart) in a supportive setting. Personality was assessed at baseline and at 3‐month follow‐up using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory ( NEO ‐ PI ‐R), the subjective psilocybin experience with Altered State of Consciousness ( ASC ) scale, and depressive symptoms with QIDS ‐ SR 16. Results Neuroticism scores significantly decreased while Extraversion increased following psilocybin therapy. These changes were in the direction of the normative NEO ‐ PI ‐R data and were both predicted, in an exploratory analysis, by the degree of insightfulness experienced during the psilocybin session. Openness scores also significantly increased following psilocybin, whereas Conscientiousness showed trend‐level increases, and Agreeableness did not change. Conclusion Our observation of changes in personality measures after psilocybin therapy was mostly consistent with reports of personality change in relation to conventional antidepressant treatment, although the pronounced increases in Extraversion and Openness might constitute an effect more specific to psychedelic therapy. This needs further exploration in future controlled studies, as do the brain mechanisms of postpsychedelic personality change.