Co-administration of midazolam and psilocybin: differential effects on subjective quality versus memory of the psychedelic experience.

ABSTRACT: Aspects of the acute experience induced by the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin predict symptomatic relief in multiple psychiatric disorders and improved well-being in healthy participants, but whether these therapeutic effects are immediate or are based on memories of the experience is unclear. To examine this, we co-administered psilocybin (25 mg) with the amnestic benzodiazepine midazolam in 8 healthy participants and assayed the subjective quality of, and memory for, the dosing-day experience. We identified a midazolam dose that allowed a conscious psychedelic experience to occur while partially impairing memory for the experience. Furthermore, midazolam dose and memory impairment tended to associate inversely with salience, insight, and well-being induced by psilocybin. These data

SUBMITTER: Nicholas CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11393325 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature