Top 10 Articles on Psychedelics and Music
A Top 10 reading list on music in psychedelic therapy, from LSD studies and brain imaging to playlist design and clinical implications.
When we think of psychedelic music bands like The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and The Beatles tend to come to mind. Inspired by the LSD-fueled cultural revolution of the 1960s, bands like these provided the soundtrack to this era and gave birth to a whole new type of sound: psychedelic rock. While people gathered in the hundreds of thousands to bear witness to these new sounds at festivals like Woodstock, researchers of this era were using music to facilitate psychedelic experiences in a more formal setting. These researchers noticed that music had the profound ability to alter the psychedelic experience in one way or another.
However, music has played a central role in the psychedelic experience for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In ayahuasca ceremonies, icaros are performed by curanderos. These traditional indigenous Amazonian songs are used to guide ceremony participants over the course of their psychedelic journey [1]. Maria Sabina, the curandero who is best known for introducing R. Gordon Wasson to psilocybin mushrooms, was also a prolific poet who spoke or sang her verses during ceremonies [2].
In modern clinical research with psychedelics, music continues to be recognized as having an integral role to play in psychedelic therapy. Participants undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions often wear eyeshades while listening to a specially curated playlist of songs that act in harmony with the effects of the drug.
The research team at Johns Hopkins have been using such a playlist for over twenty years of psychedelic research. Initiated by Bill Richards, a substantive effort has been made to carefully select music from a variety of genres which Richards says, “chromatically develops, and it goes up and reaches this exquisite climax and then comes back down.” In this sense, music is deliberately chosen to accompany a particular part of the psychedelic journey [3].
On a grander scale, the use of music in psychedelic therapy relates to the essential importance of context in the psychedelic experience or the ‘set and setting’ of the experience. Given the crucial role music has in psychedelic therapy, researchers have been exploring how music can influence the psychedelic experience. In no particular order, below we highlight some of the significant publications surrounding this aspect of psychedelic science.
LSD enhances the emotional response to music
This early modern study directly tested a central assumption of psychedelic therapy: music feels different under LSD. By showing stronger music-evoked emotion under LSD, it helped move music from a background feature of sessions to something researchers could measure and design around.
View paperLSD-induced entropic brain activity predicts subsequent personality change
This study links LSD-related changes in brain entropy to later increases in openness, with music strengthening the relationship. It is interesting because it connects a subjective therapy ingredient to measurable brain dynamics and short-term personality change.
View paperLSD modulates music-induced imagery via changes in parahippocampal connectivity
Kaelen and colleagues used fMRI to examine why music can become so imagery-rich under LSD. The study points to altered parahippocampal connectivity, giving a biological account of how music may guide visual and autobiographical material during psychedelic therapy.
View paperEffects of LSD on music-evoked brain activity
This paper looks at how LSD changes brain responses to naturalistic music. Its focus on timbre and feelings of wonder is useful because it shows that specific acoustic qualities may shape the emotional texture of psychedelic sessions.
View paperQualitative and quantitative features of music reported to support peak mystical experiences during psychedelic therapy sessions
Barrett and colleagues asked experienced psilocybin session staff what music supports peak mystical-type experiences. The paper is practical: it translates therapist experience into features such as gradual build, predictability, and forward movement that can inform playlist design.
View paperSerotonin 2A receptor signaling underlies LSD-induced alteration of the neural response to dynamic changes in music
This study used ketanserin to test whether 5-HT2A receptor signalling drives LSD-related changes in music processing. It is valuable because it links the emotional and meaningful quality of music under LSD to the receptor system central to classical psychedelics.
View paperSet and Setting: A Randomized Study of Different Musical Genres in Supporting Psychedelic Therapy
This analysis questions the assumption that Western classical music is always the best fit for psychedelic therapy. In a small smoking-cessation sample, overtone-based music appeared at least as supportive, opening the door to more flexible and participant-centred music choices.
View paperThe hidden therapist: evidence for a central role of music in psychedelic therapy
Based on interviews with psilocybin therapy participants, this paper shows music acting as more than ambience. Participants described it as grounding, guiding, and emotionally intensifying, which helps explain why music is often called the hidden therapist in psychedelic sessions.
View paperExperience of Music Used With Psychedelic Therapy: A Rapid Review and Implications
This rapid review gathers evidence on how music is used across psychedelic therapy studies. It is useful because it treats music as an active clinical ingredient and calls for better reporting, more flexible protocols, and greater involvement of music therapists.
View paperPsychedelics and music: neuroscience and therapeutic implications
Barrett, Preller, and Kaelen review the neuroscience and therapeutic role of music in psychedelic care. The paper is a helpful synthesis because it connects historical practice, brain mechanisms, and the need to study music as part of the intervention rather than a decorative add-on.
View paperHow we choose these papers
These lists are curated by hand, not generated by an algorithm. We weigh citation counts, study quality, and lasting influence on the field, and we revisit each list as new research lands. Read more about how Blossom decides what to include in our curation explainer.