Exploring psychedelic use in athletes and their attitudes toward psilocybin-assisted therapy in concussion recovery

Background: Psychedelics are receiving growing interest among clinical researchers for their effects on mood and cognition. Psilocybin is one of the most widely studied classic psychedelics which has shown good safety and clinical benefit for major depression and substance use disorders. Athletes frequently sustain concussions and often experience myriad symptoms, including cognitive and mood issues, which can persist for weeks or months in 10%-30% of athletes. Psilocybin may be a potential symptom management option for athletes with persisting concussion symptoms.Objectives: This study sought to summarize athlete psychedelic use, among other substances, and to examine the willingness of the sports community to engage in or support psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for concussion recovery and management of persisting concussion symptoms.Methods: In total, 175 (n = 85 athletes; n = 90 staff) respondents completed an online survey distributed in Canada and the United States which queried sport involvement and demographics, substance use, concussion history, and knowledge and willingness about psilocybin. The reporting of this study conforms to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES) statement.Design: Substance use rates were summarized across athletes and team staff members and a path analysis was used for each sample to identify predictors of willingness to use PAT (athletes) or support PAT (staff) for concussion recovery. Participants were also asked to identify perceived barriers to the implementation of PAT for sports-related concussions, and to indicate their overall willingness.Results: Psychedelics were the third most used substance in the past year among athletes (35.8%) while regular psychedelic use was quite low in athletes (7.5%). A path analysis conducted in RStudio found that attitudes toward psilocybin and knowledge of psilocybin were significant predictors for both athletes and staff members of their willingness to use or support PAT for concussion recovery. Athletes reported likely engaging in PAT (61.2%) and staff (71.1%) reported that they would support their athletes using PAT.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the sports community may be receptive to PAT and athletes would be willing to engage in it for concussion recovery and/or the management of persisting post-concussion symptoms (PPCS). Future research should examine the effects of psilocybin for PPCS to inform whether there is any impact while addressing concerns regarding long-term effects of psilocybin use. Psilocybin-assisted therapy for concussion recoveryStudy purpose: Psychedelics such as psilocybin have been studied largely in patients with terminal cancers, but research has begun expanding to the mental health field and for cognitive benefit. Athletes who sustain concussions and experience persisting concussion symptoms are at an increased risk of developing symptoms of anxiety and depression and dealing with cognitive symptoms such as impaired memory, attention, and concentration. Current research with psilocybin suggests that examining the use of psilocybin in athletes post-concussion for the management of mood and cognitive symptoms is a worthwhile endeavour. However, it is unclear whether the sports community is receptive to this line of research.What did the researchers do? We employed a survey study to athletes and sports staff across Canada and the United States to examine current psychedelic use, motivations for use, and willingness to use or support psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) in athletes post-concussion.What did the researchers find? 175 respondents completed an online survey distributed in Canada and the United States (n = 85 athletes; n = 90 staff). Psychedelics were the third most used substance in the past year among athletes (35.8%) while regular psychedelic use was quite low in athletes (7.5%). A path analysis conducted found that attitudes towards psilocybin and knowledge of psilocybin were significant predictors for both athletes and staff members of their willingness to use or support PAT for concussion recovery. Athletes reported likely engaging in PAT (61.2%) and staff (71.1%) reported that they would support their athletes using PAT.What do these findings mean? Our study suggests that athletes may be willing to use PAT if they had sustained a concussion and were dealing with persisting symptoms while their coaches and other staff members would also be willing to support them. Thus, further research through randomized clinical trials will be necessary to understand the effects of psilocybin and other psychedelics on persisting concussion symptoms in athletes.