LSD and creativity: Increased novelty and symbolic thinking, decreased utility and convergent thinking
In a randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled crossover with 24 healthy volunteers, 50 μg LSD increased novelty, surprise, originality and semantic distance while reducing utility and convergent thinking, producing a shift the authors characterise as pattern break, disorganisation and enhanced symbolic thinking. This reallocation of cognitive resources “away from normal” and “towards the new” suggests LSD‑induced symbolic thinking could be leveraged to improve outcomes in psychedelic‑assisted therapy.
Authors
- Fernanda Palhano-Fontes
- Luiz Tófoli
- Johannes Ramaekers
Published
Abstract
Background
Controversy surrounds psychedelics and their potential to boost creativity. To date, psychedelic studies lack a uniform conceptualization of creativity and methodologically rigorous designs.
Aims
This study aimed at addressing previous issues by examining the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on creativity using multimodal tasks and multidimensional approaches.
Methods
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 24 healthy volunteers received 50 μg of LSD or inactive placebo. Near drug peak, a creativity task battery was applied, including pattern meaning task (PMT), alternate uses task (AUT), picture concept task (PCT), creative metaphors task (MET) and figural creativity task (FIG). Creativity was assessed by scoring creativity criteria (novelty, utility, surprise), calculating divergent thinking (fluency, originality, flexibility, elaboration) and convergent thinking, computing semantic distances (semantic spread, semantic steps) and searching for data-driven special features.
Results
LSD, compared to placebo, changed several creativity measurements pointing to three overall LSD-induced phenomena: (1) ‘pattern break’, reflected by increased novelty, surprise, originality and semantic distances; (2) decreased ‘organization’, reflected by decreased utility, convergent thinking and, marginally, elaboration; and (3) ‘meaning’, reflected by increased symbolic thinking and ambiguity in the data-driven results.
Conclusion
LSD changed creativity across modalities and measurement approaches. Three phenomena of pattern break, disorganization and meaning seemed to fundamentally influence creative cognition and behaviour pointing to a shift of cognitive resources ‘away from normal’ and ‘towards the new’. LSD-induced symbolic thinking might provide a tool to support treatment efficiency in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Research Summary of 'LSD and creativity: Increased novelty and symbolic thinking, decreased utility and convergent thinking'
Introduction
Creativity is important across society and there has been renewed interest in whether serotonergic psychedelics enhance creative cognition. Previous work has been limited by small samples, varied operational definitions of creativity, naturalistic settings, lack of placebo controls and inconsistent dosing, producing mixed findings for measures such as fluency, originality and convergent thinking. Semantically oriented studies have reported increased semantic priming and larger semantic distances under psychedelics, while behavioural reports describe altered artistic output and more vivid, sometimes bizarre, imagery. Wießner and colleagues set out to address these limitations by testing the effects of a relatively low dose of LSD (50 μg) in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. They applied a multimodal creativity battery covering visual and verbal production, scored responses using theory-driven criteria (novelty, utility, surprise), established divergent and convergent thinking metrics, semantic-distance indices and a data-driven content analysis to capture features such as symbolic thinking and ambiguity. The study aimed to map how LSD alters multiple dimensions of creative cognition and behaviour under controlled conditions.
Expert Research Summaries
Go Pro to access AI-powered section-by-section summaries, editorial takes, and the full research toolkit.
Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Wießner, I., Falchi, M., Maia, L. O., Daldegan-Bueno, D., Palhano-Fontes, F., Mason, N. L., Ramaekers, J. G., Gross, M. E., Schooler, J. W., Feilding, A., Ribeiro, S., Araujo, D. B., & Tófoli, L. F. (2022). LSD and creativity: Increased novelty and symbolic thinking, decreased utility and convergent thinking. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(3), 348-359. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211069113
References (26)
Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
Family, N., Vinson, D., Vigliocco, G. et al. · Language Cognition and Neuroscience (2016)
Frecska, E., Móré, C. E., Vargha, A. et al. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2012)
Kirchner, K. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2014)
Girn, M., Mills, C., Roseman, L. et al. · NeuroImage (2020)
Harman, W. W., McKim, R. H., Mogar, R. E. et al. · Psychological Reports (1966)
Hartogsohn, I. · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2018)
Iszáj, F., Griffiths, M. D., Demetrovics, Z. · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction (2016)
Johnson, M. W., Richards, W. A., Griffiths, R. R. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2008)
Kraehenmann, R. ;., Pokorny, D. ;., Vollenweider, L. ;. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2017)
Krippner, S. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (1985)
Show all 26 referencesShow fewer
Kuypers, K. P. C., Riba, &. J., De La Fuente Revenga, &. M. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2016)
Leptourgos, P., Fortier-Davy, M., Carhart-Harris, R. L. et al. · Schizophrenia Bulletin (2020)
Liechti, M. E., Dolder, P. C., Schmid, Y. · Psychopharmacology (2016)
Mason, N. L., Kuypers, K. P. C., Reckweg, J. T. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2021)
Mason, N. L., Mischler, E., Uthaug, M. V. et al. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2019)
Preller, K. H., Herdener, M., Pokorny, T. et al. · Current Biology (2017)
Prochazkova, L., Lippelt, D. P., Colzato, L. S. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2018)
Sanz, C., Pallavicini, C., Carrillo, F. et al. · Consciousness and Cognition (2021)
Spitzer, M., Thimm, M., Hermle, L. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (1996)
Terhune, D. B., Luke, D. P., Kaelen, M. et al. · Neuropsychologia (2016)
Umbricht, A., Vollenweider, F. X., Schmid, L. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2003)
Uthaug, M. V., Lancelotta, R., van Oorsouw, K. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2019)
Uthaug, M. V., Van Oorsouw, &. K., Kuypers, &. K. P. C. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2018)
Vollenweider, F. X., Csomor, P. A., Knappe, B. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2007)
Maia, L. O., Feilding, A., Ribeiro, S. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Wießner, I., Falchi, M., Palhano-Fontes, F. et al. · Psychological Medicine (2021)
Cited By (9)
Papers in Blossom that reference this study
Suay, D., Aicher, H. D., Singer, B. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2025)
Safron, A., Juliani, A., Reggente, N. et al. · Neuroscience of Consciousness (2025)
Murphy, R. J. · Psychopharmacology (2024)
Girn, M., Rosas, F. E., Daws, R. E. et al. · Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2023)
Wießner, I., Falchi, M., Daldegan-Bueno, D. et al. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2023)
Ornelas, I. M., Cini, F. A., Wießner, I. et al. · Experimental Neurology (2022)
Dourron, H. M., Strauss, C., Hendricks, P. S. · Pharmacological Reviews (2022)
Wießner, I., Olivieri, R., Falchi, M. et al. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2022)
Ciauncia, A., Safron, A. · Psyarxiv (2022)
Your Personal Research Library
Go Pro to save papers, add notes, rate studies, and organize your research into custom shelves.