Ayahuasca-inspired DMT/harmine formulation alters creative thinking dynamics during artistic creation.

IF 5.5 3区 医学 Q1 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
Dila Suay, Helena D Aicher, Berit Singer, Michael J Mueller, Alen Jelusic, Lionel Calzaferri, Paul Springfeld, Dario A Dornbierer, Milan Scheidegger
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: While psychedelics are often claimed to enhance creativity, their precise effects on distinct stages of creative cognition remain poorly understood. This study investigated the acute effects of an ayahuasca-inspired formulation combining N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and harmine (DMT/HAR), as well as harmine alone (HAR), on micro-level (divergent/convergent thinking) and macro-level (creative process dynamics) creativity.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject design, 30 healthy male participants completed three sessions (DMT/HAR, HAR, placebo). Micro-level creativity was assessed using the picture concept task (convergent thinking) and alternative uses task (divergent thinking). Macro-level dynamics were examined through a real-world painting task using the creative process report diary, which captured dynamic stage transitions. Subjective experiences were also recorded to explore their predictive value for creativity.

Results: DMT/HAR significantly impaired convergent thinking, particularly in individuals with higher baseline reasoning. Divergent thinking showed no overall effect but revealed trend-level reductions in fluency and elaboration under DMT/HAR. At the macro-level, both DMT/HAR and HAR reduced incubation-related transitions, while DMT/HAR uniquely decreased transitions from incubation to illumination, suggesting altered pathways to insight. Subjective experiences such as altered meaning perception and increased insightfulness selectively predicted divergent, but not convergent, thinking outcomes.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the effects of DMT/HAR on creativity are not uniform. By capturing real-world creative behavior through an ecologically valid painting task, this study offers the first evidence that psychedelics influence not only creative cognition but also the dynamic processes that give rise to it. These findings highlight the importance of integrating cognitive, phenomenological and process-level perspectives to better understand creative thinking under altered states. Future research should further investigate how individual differences in subjective experience and cognitive style modulate the unfolding of creative processes under psychedelics.

死藤水启发的DMT/ hammine配方改变了艺术创作过程中的创造性思维动态。
背景:虽然迷幻药通常被认为能增强创造力,但它们对创造性认知不同阶段的确切影响仍然知之甚少。本研究考察了一种以死水为灵感的N,N-二甲基色胺(DMT)和毒碱(DMT/HAR)组合制剂以及单独使用毒碱(HAR)对微观层面(发散/收敛思维)和宏观层面(创造过程动力学)创造力的急性影响。方法:在双盲、安慰剂对照、受试者内设计中,30名健康男性参与者完成了三个疗程(DMT/HAR、HAR、安慰剂)。微观层面的创造力是通过图片概念任务(收敛思维)和替代使用任务(发散思维)来评估的。宏观层面的动态是通过一个真实世界的绘画任务,使用创作过程报告日记来检查的,它捕捉了动态的阶段过渡。主观体验也被记录下来,以探索其对创造力的预测价值。结果:DMT/HAR显著损害了收敛思维,特别是在基线推理水平较高的个体中。发散思维在DMT/HAR下没有整体影响,但在流畅性和精细化方面显示出趋势水平的降低。在宏观层面上,DMT/HAR和HAR都减少了与孵化相关的转变,而DMT/HAR独特地减少了从孵化到照明的转变,这表明通往洞察力的途径发生了改变。主观经验,如意义感知的改变和洞察力的增强,选择性地预测了发散性的思维结果,而不是趋同性的思维结果。结论:本研究表明,DMT/HAR对创造力的影响并不均匀。通过生态有效的绘画任务捕捉现实世界的创造性行为,本研究提供了第一个证据,表明迷幻剂不仅影响创造性认知,还影响产生创造性认知的动态过程。这些发现强调了整合认知、现象学和过程层面的观点对于更好地理解改变状态下的创造性思维的重要性。未来的研究应进一步探讨主观经验和认知风格的个体差异如何调节迷幻药下创造过程的展开。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Journal of Psychopharmacology
Journal of Psychopharmacology 医学-精神病学
CiteScore
8.60
自引率
4.90%
发文量
126
审稿时长
3-8 weeks
期刊介绍: The Journal of Psychopharmacology is a fully peer-reviewed, international journal that publishes original research and review articles on preclinical and clinical aspects of psychopharmacology. The journal provides an essential forum for researchers and practicing clinicians on the effects of drugs on animal and human behavior, and the mechanisms underlying these effects. The Journal of Psychopharmacology is truly international in scope and readership.
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