Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35923458›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2022

Psychedelics, Mystical Experience, and Therapeutic Efficacy: A Systematic Review.

Kwonmok Ko, Gemma Knight, James J Rucker, Anthony J Cleare

3 registry-linked trialsOpen access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 116 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
116citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
47.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06772753 phase1recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Investigation of Psychedelic Effects in Psychoactive Substances

TypeinterventionalSponsorJohns Hopkins UniversityRan2025 to 2027Enrolled50ConditionsPsychedelic Effects in Healthy VolunteersArmsPlacebo, Psilocybin, Ketamine, Dextromethorphan (DXM), Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
NCT07584070 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Mystical Experiences Without Psychedelics: The Nature of Peak Spiritual Experiences and How Integration Leads to Human Flourishing

TypeinterventionalSponsorBaylor UniversityRan2026 to 2027Enrolled120ConditionsHealthy Adult ParticipantsArmsGuided Invocation for Mystical Experience
NCT07737990 naenrolling by invitationnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Psilocybin-Assisted Group Integration Psychotherapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression

TypeinterventionalSponsorJoshua RosenblatRan2026 to 2030Enrolled65ConditionsTreatment-resistant Depression (TRD)ArmsGroup integration therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

116 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 269 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Cortical 5-HTMolecular psychiatry · 2025
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  10. Dose-response relationships of LSD-induced subjective experiences in humans.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Pooled it
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  20. Review

56 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kwonmok KoCentre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Gemma KnightCentre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
James J RuckerCentre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Anthony J CleareCentre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
King's College London · GBNIHR Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden and the ICR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The mystical experience is a potential psychological mechanism to influence outcome in psychedelic therapy. It includes features such as oceanic boundlessness, ego dissolution, and universal interconnectedness, which have been closely linked to both symptom reduction and improved quality of life. In this review, 12 studies of psychedelic therapy utilizing psilocybin, ayahuasca, or ketamine were analyzed for association between mystical experience and symptom reduction, in areas as diverse as cancer-related distress, substance use disorder, and depressive disorders to include treatment-resistant. Ten of the twelve established a significant association of correlation, mediation, and/or prediction. A majority of the studies are limited, however, by their small sample size and lack of diversity (gender, ethnic, racial, educational, and socioeconomic), common in this newly re-emerging field. Further, 6 out of 12 studies were open-label in design and therefore susceptible to bias. Future studies of this nature should consider a larger sample size with greater diversity and thus representation by use of randomized design. More in-depth exploration into the nature of mystical experience is needed, including predictors of intensity, in order to maximize its positive effects on treatment outcome benefits and minimize concomitant anxiety.

Indexed as

ayahuascacancer-related distressdepressive disordersketaminemystical experiencepsilocybinpsychedelic therapysubstance use disorder (SUD)

Identifiers

PMID35923458
PMCPMC9340494
OpenAlexW4285091545

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.