A recent study published in the Journal of Psychopharmocology examined whether the heightened sense of novelty and profundity people experience during a psychedelic trip actually translates into improved creative performance.

I recently spoke to neuroscientist, psychedelic researcher and lead author of the study, Dila Suay — from the University of Zurich — to understand all the different ways in which psychedelics alter our patterns of creative thought. Here’s a summary of our conversation.

What inspired you to investigate psychedelic effects on creativity?

I’ve always been fascinated by how psychedelics seem to reshape perception, imagination and meaning. In that sense, creativity reflects the mind’s ability to connect distant ideas and give form to new perspectives. 

Despite widespread cultural claims that psychedelics enhance creativity, scientific evidence has been surprisingly limited and mixed. My aim was to bridge that gap by combining standard creativity tests with an art-based task that captures creativity as it unfolds in real time, allowing us to observe not just the outcomes of creative thought, but its dynamic process under altered states.

For our readers, could you break down how you conducted the study and what you discovered, in simple terms?

We used a double-blind, within-subject design and invited healthy volunteers to take part in three sessions under placebo, harmine or a DMT and harmine combination — the same two compounds found in the South American brew ayahuasca. 

To explore both the structured and spontaneous sides of creativity, we combined objective measures with a real-world artistic task, offering a more ecologically valid window into how creativity unfolds under psychedelics.

Participants first completed standard creativity tests that measured idea generation (divergent thinking) and idea evaluation (convergent thinking). Later, they painted freely on a digital canvas while frequently reporting which stage of the creative process they were in, such as incubation, illumination or production.

We found that the DMT/harmine combination acutely impaired idea evaluation and structured problem-solving (convergent thinking), but did not alter idea generation (divergent thinking). 

Interestingly, all participants reported feeling significantly more insightful and creative even as their measurable performance declined. During the painting task, psychedelics disrupted the usual flow between reflection and “aha” moments, suggesting that creative insights may emerge through different, less structured routes than in ordinary states of mind.

Why is it that we might feel more creative when experiencing a psychedelic trip?

Psychedelics temporarily relax the brain’s top-down control systems, allowing information to flow more freely between networks that are usually kept separate. This neural reconfiguration can heighten the sense of novelty and interconnectedness and, suddenly, everything feels profound, meaningful and original. 

But that feeling does not always translate into better creative performance. The trip may feel like an explosion of ideas, yet our ability to evaluate, organize and refine those ideas tends to weaken acutely at the same time.

Considering that your study potentially busts a popular current myth around psychedelic use, what do you think is fueling trends like micro-dosing psychedelic mushrooms?

I wouldn’t say our findings bust the creativity myth. If anything, they make it more complex. Almost all participants felt more insightful and creative, even when traditional tests didn’t capture measurable improvements. That raises an important question: are our existing tools sensitive enough to detect creativity under altered states of consciousness?

It is also worth noting that our study focused on the acute phase of the psychedelic experience and used medium-to-high doses. Some studies looking at post-acute phases have found more positive effects on creative thinking, suggesting that timing really matters. 

Micro-dosing, on the other hand, operates at a completely different scale, where subtle long-term changes might emerge rather than immediate effects. What we need now are studies that compare different dosages, time points and creativity measures combined with neuroimaging methods to reveal what is happening in the brain as creativity unfolds. 

By linking behavioural changes with neural dynamics, we can begin to understand not just whether psychedelics influence creativity, but how these altered brain states give rise to new ways of thinking.

Does your study have any practical takeaways for people who have always wanted to try psychedelics and have heard about their creativity-enhancing effects?

There’s nothing more important than taking psychedelics in the right set and setting: the mental state and physical environment that shape the experience. Under supportive conditions, psychedelics can open access to new emotional and aesthetic perspectives, and they can momentarily loosen rigid patterns of thought. 

However, the coherent translation of those insights (writing, composing or painting) usually happens afterward in a sober and reflective state. Integration, the process of making sense of the experience afterward, is often where fleeting insights mature into lasting creative or therapeutic change. 

Creativity and cognitive flexibility could play a key role in how people integrate psychedelic experiences and translate them into meaningful personal growth and potential therapeutic applications. 

So, if one seeks creativity, the real value may lie less in generating ideas during the trip and more in processing and refining those impressions afterward, when evaluation skills return to baseline. That said, psychedelics may not be right for everyone, as their effects and safety in individuals with certain psychological or medical conditions are still not well understood.

Was there something in the results of your study that took you by surprise?

Yes, absolutely. What struck me most was how strongly individual differences shaped the outcomes. Participants who were more analytical under normal conditions tended to show the biggest drops in idea evaluation (convergent thinking) during the psychedelic experience. This suggests that psychedelics interact with one’s baseline cognitive style, rather than producing uniform effects across people. 

That complexity, to me, is far more interesting than a simple yes-or-no answer about whether they make us more creative. There is still much to investigate, especially how personality traits, neural dynamics and different doses shape these individual responses over time.

Psychedelics are often associated with the experience of “ego deaths.” Take this science-backed test to find out if you’ve experienced one: Ego Dissolution Scale