Psychedelics reshape time perception offering new therapeutic pathways

(Press-News.org) CHANGCHUN, CHINA, 21 October 2025 -- A perspective article published today in Psychedelics by Prof. Xiaohui Wang and colleagues examine how psychedelic substances profoundly reshape our perception of time, offering unprecedented insights into consciousness and potential therapeutic applications. The analysis synthesizes existing research on temporal distortions induced by substances including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), revealing how these compounds provide unique windows into brain function and mental health treatment.

Time perception forms the foundation of human consciousness, yet psychedelics can dramatically alter this fundamental aspect of experience. Users frequently report seconds feeling like hours, hours compressed into minutes, or complete dissolution of temporal boundaries. These phenomena extend beyond subjective curiosity, offering researchers crucial data about how the brain constructs our sense of time and self.

Neural Networks Under Psychedelic Influence

The perspective article identifies key neurobiological mechanisms underlying these temporal distortions. Central to these changes is the default mode network (DMN), a brain system associated with self-referential thinking and continuous time perception. Psychedelics suppress DMN activity, correlating strongly with reports of time dissolution and loss of linear temporal experience. This suppression appears particularly relevant for therapeutic applications, as excessive DMN activity characterizes several psychiatric conditions.

Prof. Wang highlights how psychedelics modulate multiple brain regions simultaneously. The basal ganglia, typically responsible for interval timing on millisecond scales, shows altered function under psychedelic influence. The prefrontal cortex, which encodes longer time spans and integrates temporal information for planning, exhibits changed connectivity patterns. The cerebellum, crucial for precise timing of motor events, and the insula, which links body states with time perception, both demonstrate modified activity patterns.

Neurotransmitter systems play pivotal roles in these alterations. Serotonin receptors, particularly through 5-HT2A receptor activation, emerges as the primary mediator of psychedelic temporal effects. This receptor activation enhances cortical excitability and increases sensory input gain, potentially explaining why time appears to dilate when processing increases. The analysis also notes dopamine involvement in shorter interval timing disruptions and glutamate participation through NMDA receptor-mediated processes.

From Dilation to Timelessness

The perspective describes three main categories of temporal distortion. Time dilation, where brief periods feel extended, may result from enhanced sensory processing as psychedelics elevate neural oscillations in brain regions specialized for sensory and emotional input. Conversely, time compression, where hours pass like minutes, could relate to intense attentional focus or ego dissolution loosening typical perceptual holds on temporal flow.

Perhaps most intriguingly, many users report complete timelessness, experiencing past, present, and future as unified or irrelevant. These experiences often occur within profound mystical states and correlate with DMN suppression. Such states raise fundamental questions about whether linear time represents a cognitive construction rather than an absolute reality.

The authors note important substance-specific differences. Psilocybin tends to produce experiences of timelessness, while LSD more frequently induces profound time dilation. These distinctions suggest different pharmacological profiles produce varying temporal effects, highlighting the complexity of neural substrates mediating temporal experience.

Therapeutic Implications Emerge

The perspective article emphasizes therapeutic potential in conditions where temporal perception dysfunction plays a central role. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety all involve altered relationships with time. PTSD patients often feel trapped in past trauma, depression frequently involves feeling stuck in negative temporal loops, and anxiety centers on future-focused temporal distress.

Evidence from psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trials suggests these substances enable individuals to revisit traumatic memories from detached, nonlinear perspectives. This temporal decoupling allows processing of past experiences with reduced emotional intensity, supporting meaning-making and integration. Patients describe these temporal shifts as significant factors in symptom improvement.

Prof. Wang notes that psychedelics may effectively rewire neural circuits involved in both time processing and emotion regulation. By disrupting maladaptive temporal patterns, these substances could facilitate development of healthier time perceptions. This mechanism appears particularly relevant for treatment-resistant conditions where conventional therapies fail to shift entrenched temporal-emotional patterns.

Rigorous Frameworks Required

While acknowledging therapeutic promise, the authors emphasize necessary ethical considerations and safety protocols. They stress that administration should occur only in controlled settings with professional oversight. Robust informed consent processes must ensure patients understand potential for profound consciousness alterations, including potentially distressing temporal distortions.

The perspective calls for systematic evaluation through longitudinal studies tracking objective time perception measures and neural activity in patients undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy. Such research could establish whether temporal perception changes mediate therapeutic outcomes or represent parallel phenomena.

Regulatory challenges persist, as many psychedelics remain Schedule I substances, limiting research opportunities. The authors advocate for clear safety monitoring guidelines and defined regulatory pathways enabling responsible therapeutic integration while preventing misuse.

Future Research Directions

The analysis identifies critical gaps requiring investigation. How do different psychedelic compounds produce distinct temporal effects? What role does neural synchrony, particularly theta and gamma oscillations, play in maintaining normal time perception? Can specific temporal distortion profiles predict therapeutic outcomes for different conditions?

The authors propose that understanding psychedelic effects on time perception could revolutionize approaches to psychiatric disorders. Rather than viewing these conditions solely through emotional or cognitive lenses, incorporating temporal perception as a treatment target opens novel therapeutic avenues.

This perspective article represents a critical synthesis of the current state of knowledge in psychedelic temporal effects, providing researchers, clinicians, and policymakers with a comprehensive framework for understanding these phenomena. By systematically analyzing and integrating findings from across the literature, the authors offer both a historical perspective on how the field has evolved and a roadmap for future investigations. Such comprehensive reviews are essential for identifying patterns that may not be apparent in individual studies, resolving apparent contradictions in the literature, and highlighting the most promising avenues for advancing the field. The synthesis presented here serves as a valuable resource for both newcomers seeking to understand the field and experienced researchers looking to contextualize their work within the broader scientific landscape.

The Perspective in Psychedelics titled "Psychedelics and time: Exploring altered temporal perception and its implications for consciousness, neuroscience, and therapy," is freely available via Open Access on 21 October 2025 in Psychedelics at the following hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.61373/pp025p.0041.

About Psychedelics: Psychedelics: The Journal of Psychedelic and Psychoactive Drug Research (ISSN: 2997-2671, online and 2997-268X, print) is a peer reviewed medical research journal published by Genomic Press, New York. Psychedelics is dedicated to advancing knowledge across the full spectrum of consciousness altering substances, from classical psychedelics to stimulants, cannabinoids, entactogens, dissociatives, plant derived compounds, and novel compounds including drug discovery approaches. Our multidisciplinary approach encompasses molecular mechanisms, therapeutic applications, neuroscientific discoveries, and sociocultural analyses. We welcome diverse methodologies and perspectives from fundamental pharmacology and clinical studies to psychological investigations and societal-historical contexts that enhance our understanding of how these substances interact with human biology, psychology, and society.

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