Study Finds Psilocybin Increases Empathy in Depressed People

Spletna stran študija, objavljeno v Molekularna psihiatrija, was carried out in Switzerland (a spiritual home for psychedelic research, being the birthplace of LSD!)

It examined changes in empathy among depressed individuals following just one dose of psilocybin.

The participants who received psilocybin showed substantial improvements in emotional empathy when compared to the control group, who were given a placebo. The improvements in the psilocybin group lasted for at least two weeks after treatment. 

What is Empathy?

Empathy is generally defined as the ability to see things from another person’s perspective; to be able to understand, feel, and respond to their experience. It can be sorted into two types: emotional empathy (feeling what others feel) in . cognitive empatija (understanding another person’s point of view). Empathy is essential for forming emotional connections, however, research suggests that excessive empathy (in particular emotional empathy) can contribute to emotional distress, most notably in those who tend to absorb others’ negative emotions. Due to this, heightened emotional empathy is sometimes linked to an increased risk of burnout and depression. 

Previous research studies have found that psilocybin can temporarily enhance empathy, especially emotional empathy, by boosting feelings of connectedness and weakening ego-related barriers. Psilocybin interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain, which causes altered perception, mood, and cognition. 

Hypothesis: Psilocybin Will Increase Emotional Empathy

The study author was Johannes Jungwirth, and alongside his colleagues, they aimed to investigate the effects of a single dose of psilocybin on the empathy levels of depressed individuals. They would then compare these changes to those in the placebo group. They assessed differences in empathy at two days, eight days, and thirteen days after treatment. Their proposed hypothesis was that psilocybin would increase emotional empathy and that this effect would continue for up to two weeks post-treatment. 

How Was The Study Carried Out?

The study consisted of 51 individuals experiencing an acute depressive episode. Of the 51, 19 were men. The average age of the participants was between 36 and 37 years. Those who were already taking psychiatric medication were required to come off it before the study began. Then the participants were randomly allocated either a dose of psilocybin (25 participants) or an identical looking placebo with no effects (26 participants). 

Overall, the study lasted a four week period, with seven in-person visits to the research lab during it. The first visit consisted of screening for the trial. After that came two psychological preparation sessions, one four days before treatment and the next one day before treatment. The third visit was the day that the participants received either a single oral dose of psilocybin or a placebo. The process was completed with three further visits ar two, eight, and fourteen days after treatment. During the three follow ups participants attended psychological support sessions designed to help them process any difficult emotions and develop their own narrative about their experience. Additionally, at these sessions they completed assessments of empathy (z uporabo Multifaceted Empathy Test) and depression (z uporabo Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale in Beck Depression Inventory).

“Lasting Effects…”

The findings showed that psilocybin treatment led to a clear improvement in emotional empathy compared to the placebo-controlled group. This improvement was seen as early as two days after treatment, and peaked at eight days. When it came to cognitive empathy however, no significant differences were found between the psilocybin or the control (placebo) group. 

The study authors conclude;

“Our findings provide evidence for the lasting effects of psilocybin on empathy in depressed patients, with significant increases in explicit emotional empathy observed up to 14 days after treatment.”

“Given that conventional antidepressants have been observed to reduce empathy, psilocybin could be a promising candidate for enhancing social cognition and strengthening therapeutic alliance,” 

A Real Alternative to Traditional Depression Medication

This study adds to the glut of research that has highlighted psilocybin’s effectiveness in treating depression. While the study group was relatively small, the findings are deeply fascinating. For many people who take traditional pharmaceutical medication (such as SSRIs) for depression, the dulling of emotions is a real problem. If psilocybin has been found to be as, if not more, effective than SSRIs in . rather than dull, actually increases empathy, it seems a no-brainer that this mushroom-extract must be further studied. 

Another day, another study published that extolls the benefits of psilocybin. If your interested is piqued, why not check out our trgovina for all your magic mushroom and truffle needs?