Psilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences | Maria Grzywacz, B.Sc. & Drummond McCulloch, M.Sc.

Psilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences are related to persisting positive effects: a quantitative and qualitative investigation with Maria Grzywacz, B.Sc. & Drummond McCulloch, M.Sc. @ uniMIND Symposium 2022 - Synergies and Crossroads in Psychedelic Research
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Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin have shown substantial promise for the treatment of several
psychiatric conditions including mood and addictive disorders. They also have the remarkable
property of producing persisting positive psychological changes in healthy volunteers for at
least several months. Using natural language pre-processing, we provide the first qualitative
descriptions of the “Complete Mystical Experience” induced by orally administered psilocybin
in healthy volunteers, revealing themes such as a sense of connection with the universe,
familial love, and the experience of profound beauty. These findings present a crossroads for
psychedelic science at which we consider whether profound acute experiences are necessary
and or sufficient for the lasting positive psychological effects.

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝘇𝘆𝘄𝗮𝗰𝘇, 𝗕.𝗦𝗰. - her interests include creativity, personal development and mental and somatic health and well-being. First, gaining professional experience from working in fine arts, then traveling the globe, studying and teaching yoga and meditation, she is now immersed in psychology - a discipline that braids both her skills and passions. Maria currently work as a narrative therapist in the Danish National Association Against Self-Harm and Eating Disorders and is involved with psychedelic research at the Neurobiology Research Unit in Copenhagen.

𝗗𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗵, 𝗠.𝗦𝗰. was born and raised in Scotland, completing his education in Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow. He spent a year working for COMPASS Pathways in drug discovery and development and now works at the Neurobiology Research Unit in Copenhagen, enrolling as a PhD student in March 2022 to study the effects of psychedelic drugs on the brain using PET and MR imaging.