ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025
Aesthetic quality of psychedelic experience is linked to insight and psychological outcomes.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Autonomic indicators of self-transcendence: insights from the numadelic VR paradigm.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2026Article
- Preliminary validation and refinement of the psychedelic aesthetic experience questionnaire.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: The aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences have long been documented, but their specific contribution to therapeutic outcomes remains understudied. Aesthetic experiences may facilitate emotional breakthroughs and cognitive shifts, potentially playing a crucial role in the lasting psychological benefits observed following psychedelic use. Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed 96 individuals who reported using classic psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin, LSD, DMT, mescaline) within the past year. Participants completed validated measures including the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI), Psychological Insight Scale (PIS), Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), and a novel measure of aesthetic experience (PAEQ). Linear regression and Spearman correlations were used to assess associations between aesthetic experience and psychological outcomes. Results: Aesthetic experience was significantly associated with greater emotional breakthrough ( Discussion: These findings suggest that aesthetic aspects of psychedelic experiences are not merely perceptual enhancements but may actively contribute to therapeutic outcomes. The inverse relationship between aesthetic quality and challenging experiences highlights the potential utility of optimizing the aesthetic environment in psychedelic-assisted therapy. Future research should further validate the PAEQ and explore causal mechanisms using longitudinal and experimental designs.
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