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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Oct;38(10):897-910.
doi: 10.1177/02698811241282637. Epub 2024 Sep 27.

Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat

Daniel Meling  1   2 , Klemens Egger  1   3   4 , Helena D Aicher  1   3   5 , Javier Jareño Redondo  1 , Jovin Mueller  1 , Joëlle Dornbierer  1   3 , Elijah Temperli  1 , Emilia A Vasella  1 , Luzia Caflisch  1   5 , David J Pfeiffer  1 , Jonas Tt Schlomberg  1   5   6 , John W Smallridge  1 , Dario A Dornbierer  1 , Milan Scheidegger  1   3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Psychedelic Research and Therapy Development, Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Clinic Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 2 Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
  • 3 Neuroscience Center Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 4 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
  • 5 Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 6 Digital Society Initiative, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Randomized Controlled Trial

Meditating on psychedelics. A randomized placebo-controlled study of DMT and harmine in a mindfulness retreat

Daniel Meling et al. J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Oct.
. 2024 Oct;38(10):897-910.
doi: 10.1177/02698811241282637. Epub 2024 Sep 27.

Authors

Daniel Meling  1   2 , Klemens Egger  1   3   4 , Helena D Aicher  1   3   5 , Javier Jareño Redondo  1 , Jovin Mueller  1 , Joëlle Dornbierer  1   3 , Elijah Temperli  1 , Emilia A Vasella  1 , Luzia Caflisch  1   5 , David J Pfeiffer  1 , Jonas Tt Schlomberg  1   5   6 , John W Smallridge  1 , Dario A Dornbierer  1 , Milan Scheidegger  1   3

Affiliations

  • 1 Psychedelic Research and Therapy Development, Department of Adult Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Clinic Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 2 Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
  • 3 Neuroscience Center Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 4 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
  • 5 Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • 6 Digital Society Initiative, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: In recent years, both meditation and psychedelics have attracted rapidly increasing scientific interest. While the current state of evidence suggests the promising potential of psychedelics, such as psilocybin, to enhance meditative training, it remains equivocal whether these effects are specifically bound to psilocybin or if other classical psychedelics might show synergistic effects with meditation practice. One particularly promising candidate is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an active ingredient of ayahuasca.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the effect of the psychedelic substance DMT, combined with the monoamine oxidase inhibitor harmine (DMT-harmine), on meditative states, compared to meditation with a placebo.

Method: Forty experienced meditators (18 females and 22 males) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study over a 3-day meditation retreat, receiving either placebo or DMT-harmine. Participants' levels of mindfulness, compassion, insight, and transcendence were assessed before, during, and after the meditation group retreat, using psychometric questionnaires.

Results: Compared to meditation with a placebo, meditators who received DMT and harmine self-attributed greater levels of mystical-type experiences, non-dual awareness, and emotional breakthrough during the acute substance effects and, when corrected for baseline differences, greater psychological insight 1 day later. Mindfulness and compassion were not significantly different in the DMT-harmine group compared to placebo. At 1-month follow-up, the meditators who received DMT and harmine rated their experience as significantly more personally meaningful, spiritually significant, and well-being-enhancing than the meditators who received placebo.

Conclusion: Investigating the impact of DMT-harmine on meditators in a naturalistic mindfulness group retreat, this placebo-controlled study highlights the specific effects of psychedelics during meditation.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05780216.

Keywords: DMT; Psychedelic; ayahuasca; compassion; dimethyltryptamine; insight; meditation; mindfulness; mystical experience.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: DM, KE, HDA, JJR, JM, JD, ET, EAV, LC, DJP, JTTS, and JWS report having no conflicts of interest with respect to research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. MS and DAD declare that they co-founded Reconnect Labs, an academic spin-off at the University of Zurich, focused on the development of psychedelic medicines for mental health.

Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Boxplots of state mindfulness (Toronto…

Figure 1.

Boxplots of state mindfulness (Toronto Mindfulness Scale), trait mindfulness (Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory), self-compassion,…

Figure 1.
Boxplots of state mindfulness (Toronto Mindfulness Scale), trait mindfulness (Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory), self-compassion, and compassion for others (Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scales) over various time points. TMS: Toronto mindfulness scale; FMI: Freiburg mindfulness inventory; SOCS-S: Sussex-Oxford compassion for the self-scale; SOCS-O: Sussex-Oxford compassion for others scale. Outliers are indicated with circles. Asterisks indicate a significant difference compared to either the placebo group or another time point within the DMT-harmine group (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ns: nonsignificant). Regarding TMS scores, there was no significant effect of the interaction between the study group and time. While there was a significant interaction effect, there was no significant difference in FMI scores between the placebo group and the DMT-harmine group at baseline, 1 day after the retreat, or 1 week later. For both the SOCS-S and the SOCS-O, there was no significant effect of the interaction between the study group and time.
Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Levels of psychological insight (Psychological…

Figure 2.

Levels of psychological insight (Psychological Insight Scale), emotional breakthrough (Emotional Breakthrough Inventory), mystical…

Figure 2.
Levels of psychological insight (Psychological Insight Scale), emotional breakthrough (Emotional Breakthrough Inventory), mystical experience (Mystical Experience Questionnaire), and nondual awareness (Nondual Awareness Dimensional Assessment-State) on each day of the 3-day meditation retreat. PIS: psychological insight scale; EBI: emotional breakthrough inventory; MEQ: mystical experience questionnaire; NADA-S: nondual awareness dimensional assessment-state. Asterisks indicate a significant difference compared to either the placebo group or another time point within the DMT-harmine group (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ns: nonsignificant). The participants’ PIS scores showed a significant interaction effect between the group and time. EBI scores showed a significant interaction effect between group and time. EBI breakthrough scores were significantly higher in the DMT-harmine group than in the placebo group on day 2 but not on day 3. MEQ scores showed a significant interaction effect between group and time. On day 2, the MEQ score was significantly higher in the DMT-harmine group than in the placebo group (p < 0.001). There was a significant interaction effect between group and time on NADA-S ratings. On day 2, the NADA-S score was significantly higher in the DMT-harmine group than in the placebo group (p = 0.001).
Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Participant ratings of meaningfulness, spiritual…

Figure 3.

Participant ratings of meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and changes in well-being at 1-month follow-up.…

Figure 3.
Participant ratings of meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and changes in well-being at 1-month follow-up. Bars show the total number of participants who rated each of the response options. The first panel displays the participant ratings on the first item “How personally meaningful was the experience?” (with 0 = no more than routine, everyday experiences; 6 = among the five most meaningful experiences of my life; and 7 = the single most meaningful experience of my life). The second panel displays the participant ratings of the degree to which the experience was spiritually significant to them (rated from 0 to 5, with 0 = not at all; 4 = among the five most spiritually significant experiences of my life; and 5 = the single most spiritually significant experience of my life). The third panel displays the participant ratings of the extent to which the experience and the contemplation of it have led them to changes in their current sense of well-being or life satisfaction (rated from 0 to 6, 0 = decreased very much; 3 = no change; and 6 = increased very much).
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References

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