Longitudinal Assessment of Alcohol and Cannabis Use Before and After a Naturalistic Experience of Psilocybin Open Access

Abstract

Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in some mushrooms that can elicit cognitive and affective changes, including altered perception of time and powerful emotions. It has shown strong therapeutic potential in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs), leading to increased rates of alcohol and smoking cessation. However, there is limited work exploring the affective dynamics that occur when alcohol and cannabis are used in close proximity to psilocybin in populations without SUDs. This study uses an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) protocol to evaluate associations between core affect and substance use before and after a naturalistic experience with psilocybin. Substance use history was obtained through a modified version of the Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM). Participants (N = 58) completed three surveys per day for ten days (five days pre-psilocybin, five days post-psilocybin) through a mobile smartphone app. Valence and activation, as measures of core affect, were queried in all daily surveys, and substance use was assessed in the final survey of the day. Results showed that daily alcohol and cannabis use did not change following participants’ psilocybin experience. Multilevel logistic models found that the presence of a weekend during the EMA period significantly predicted the likelihood of alcohol and cannabis use. Within-day and daily average level measures of valence did not predict alcohol or cannabis use. However, the psilocybin dosing experience significantly moderated the relationship between daily average activation, and both alcohol and cannabis use. Pulse and spin were calculated as composite measures of core affect in exploratory analyses. While no associations between pulse and substance use emerged, spin was negatively correlated with the likelihood of cannabis use. These findings suggest that while a naturalistic psilocybin experience may not alter substance use, subtle shifts in affective dynamics can be further explored through EMA in studies of therapeutic psilocybin use for SUDs.

Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................................1

Therapeutic Use of Psilocybin for Substance Use Disorders..........................................................2

Psilocybin and Substance Use in Naturalistic Settings.................................................................4

Affective Dynamics of Naturalistic Psilocybin Use.......................................................................5

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) for Substance Use Research .........................................6

Affective Dynamics of Naturalistic Alcohol and Cannabis Use: Evidence from EMA Research..........7

The Current Study.....................................................................................................................8

Methods...................................................................................................................................9

Participants..............................................................................................................................9

Procedure................................................................................................................................10

Materials and Measures............................................................................................................12

Analysis plan...........................................................................................................................13

Confirmatory Hypotheses.........................................................................................................14

Exploratory Analyses................................................................................................................16

Results ....................................................................................................................................17

Baseline Substance Use and EMA Study Timing.......................................................................... 17

Findings from Alcohol and Cannabis Use During EMA Study Period..............................................18

Affective Valence and Activation................................................................................................20

Exploratory Analyses ................................................................................................................23

Discussion................................................................................................................................24

Daily Alcohol and Cannabis Use Patterns....................................................................................25

Core Affect and Substance Use...................................................................................................26

Exploratory Findings: Pulse and Spin.........................................................................................28

Implications for Psilocybin and Substance Use............................................................................29

Limitations..............................................................................................................................30

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................32

References...............................................................................................................................34

Appendices..............................................................................................................................46

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Behavioral Sciences
Keyword	Measurement Psilocybin
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Palitsky, Roman, Emory University
Committee Members	Grizzell, Alex, Emory University Gebru, Neo, Emory University Kaplan, Deanna, Emory University

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