Tripping on nothing: placebo psychedelics and contextual factors

Psychopharmacology
Jay A OlsonSamuel P L Veissière

Abstract

Is it possible to have a psychedelic experience from a placebo alone? Most psychedelic studies find few effects in the placebo control group, yet these effects may have been obscured by the study design, setting, or analysis decisions. We examined individual variation in placebo effects in a naturalistic environment resembling a typical psychedelic party. Thirty-three students completed a single-arm study ostensibly examining how a psychedelic drug affects creativity. The 4-h study took place in a group setting with music, paintings, coloured lights, and visual projections. Participants consumed a placebo that we described as a drug resembling psilocybin, which is found in psychedelic mushrooms. To boost expectations, confederates subtly acted out the stated effects of the drug and participants were led to believe that there was no placebo control group. The participants later completed the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale, which measures changes in conscious experience. There was considerable individual variation in the placebo effects; many participants reported no changes while others showed effects with magnitudes typically associated with moderate or high doses of psilocybin. In addition, the majo...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1977·The American Journal of Psychiatry·P ZeidenbergG G Nahas
Jun 1, 1988·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·D WatsonA Tellegen
Jun 1, 1971·The International Journal of the Addictions·W Keup
Jan 1, 1981·Addictive Behaviors·D J Rohsenow, G A Marlatt
Feb 7, 2002·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·Arthur J BarskyJonathan F Borus
May 9, 2007·General Hospital Psychiatry·Roy R ReevesRandy S Burke
Nov 14, 2007·The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry : Official Journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry·Joel R SneedSteven P Roose
Oct 1, 1948·Journal of Clinical Psychology·J N BUCK
Jul 3, 2008·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Mw JohnsonRr Griffiths
Jul 15, 2009·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·Ted J KaptchukEric E Jacobson
Oct 9, 2009·Drug Safety : an International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Drug Experience·Winfried RiefJerry Avorn
Sep 8, 2010·Archives of General Psychiatry·Charles S GrobGeorge R Greer
Sep 9, 2010·PloS One·Erich StuderusFranz X Vollenweider
May 18, 2011·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Luana Colloca, Franklin G Miller
Jun 16, 2011·Psychopharmacology·Roland R GriffithsRobert Jesse
Mar 1, 2012·PloS One·Erich StuderusFranz X Vollenweider
Mar 2, 2013·Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery·Paul EnckWinfried Rief
Sep 21, 2013·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Suresh D MuthukumaraswamyDavid J Nutt
Dec 30, 2014·Health Psychology : Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association·Kate FaasseKeith J Petrie
Jul 2, 2015·The New England Journal of Medicine·Ted J Kaptchuk, Franklin G Miller
Sep 4, 2015·Addictive Behaviors·Michael H BernsteinSuzanne M Colby
Sep 10, 2015·CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'Association Medicale Canadienne·Kenneth W TupperMatthew W Johnson
Oct 8, 2015·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Frederick S BarrettRoland R Griffiths
Apr 14, 2016·Pharmacology Research & Perspectives·Sara PlanèsMichel Mallaret
May 22, 2016·Consciousness and Cognition·Jay A OlsonAmir Raz
Oct 8, 2016·Psychopharmacology·Matthias E LiechtiYasmin Schmid
Apr 30, 2017·Journal of Evidence-based Medicine·James E G CharlesworthJeremy Howick
Feb 6, 2018·Psychopharmacology·Mendel KaelenRobin Carhart-Harris
Feb 16, 2018·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Robin L Carhart-HarrisMendel Kaelen
Apr 24, 2018·International Review of Neurobiology·Irving Kirsch
Jun 4, 2018·Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine·Kate FaasseKeith J Petrie
Oct 26, 2018·Psychopharmacology·Luisa ProchazkovaBernhard Hommel
Feb 7, 2019·PloS One·Vince Polito, Richard J Stevenson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Sep 15, 2020·Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology·Kim P C Kuypers
Jan 28, 2021·Transcultural Psychiatry·Natalie Gukasyan, Sandeep M Nayak
Feb 12, 2021·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Carla PallaviciniEnzo Tagliazucchi
Jan 17, 2021·Brain Sciences·Gemma PerryWilliam Forde Thompson
Mar 25, 2021·Scientific Reports·Brandon WeissW Keith Campbell
Mar 23, 2021·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Jay A OlsonSamuel P L Veissière
Apr 17, 2021·ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science·Gabrielle Agin-LiebesAlan K Davis
May 18, 2021·The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis·David J AcunzoDevin B Terhune
Jun 3, 2021·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Henry LoweLorenzo Gordon
May 22, 2021·Frontiers in Pharmacology·Ido Hartogsohn
Jun 19, 2021·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jay A OlsonMargaret E Webb
Jun 22, 2021·Frontiers in Pharmacology·David M O'Shaughnessy, Ilana Berlowitz
Jul 14, 2021·Psychological Medicine·Isabel WießnerLuís Fernando Tófoli
Aug 20, 2021·Human Psychopharmacology·Elisabet Domínguez-ClavéJuan C Pascual
Oct 13, 2021·Nature Medicine·Matthew J Burke, Daniel M Blumberger

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
pull down

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal
W Mahabir
Journal of Neuropsychiatry
C SAVAGEJ FADIMAN
Current Psychiatric Therapies
L Grinspoon, J B Bakalar
The American Journal of Psychiatry
M Rinkel
Pennsylvania Medicine
S N Kieffer, T B Mortiz
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved