Analysis of recreational psychedelic substance use experiences classified by substance

Differences among psychedelic substances in subjective experience can be detected through quantitative linguistic analysis of online experience reports. Analyzing 2947 reports, distinct linguistic profiles emerged: MDMA reports showed high emotional intensity and cognitive process words, while Ayahuasca/DMT reports had little emotional language, few cognitive process words, increased analytical thinking language, and the closest semantic similarity to mystical experience descriptions. LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine reports differed only slightly from each other on these measures. Antidepressant reports featured more negative emotion and cognitive process words and were unlike mystical or psychedelic language. These findings may inform experimental research and clinical trials.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Rationale and objectives Differences among psychedelic substances regarding their subjective experiences are clinically and scientifically interesting. Quantitative linguistic analysis is a powerful tool to examine such differences. This study compared five psychedelic substance report groups and a non-psychedelic report group on quantitative linguistic markers of psychological states and processes derived from recreational use-based online experience reports. Methods Using 2947 publicly available online reports, we compared Ayahuasca and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT, analyzed together), ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), psilocybin (mushroom), and antidepressant drug use experiences. We examined word frequencies related to various psychological states and processes and semantic proximity to psychedelic and mystical experience scales. Results Linguistic markers of psychological function indicated distinct effect profiles. For example, MDMA experience reports featured an emotionally intensifying profile accompanied by many cognitive process words and dynamic-personal language. In contrast, Ayahuasca and DMT experience reports involved relatively little emotional language, few cognitive process words, increased analytical thinking-associated language, and the most semantic similarity with psychedelic and mystical experience descriptions. LSD, psilocybin mushroom, and ketamine reports showed only small differences on the emotion-, analytical thinking-, psychedelic, and mystical experience-related language outcomes. Antidepressant reports featured more negative emotional and cognitive process-related words, fewer positive emotional and analytical thinking-related words, and were generally not similar to mystical and psychedelic language. Conclusion This article addresses an existing research gap regarding the comparison of different psychedelic drugs on linguistic profiles of psychological states, processes, and experiences. The large sample of experience reports involving multiple psychedelic drugs provides valuable information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. The results could inform experimental research into psychedelic drug effects in healthy populations and clinical trials for psychedelic treatments of psychiatric problems.