Microdosing Research

Cognitive and Subjective Effects of Psilocybin Microdosing: Results from Two Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Longitudinal Trials

October 29, 2025

These two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (n=141) conducted in semi-naturalistic settings found that microdosing psilocybin truffles did not significantly affect cognitive control, memory, social cognition, subjective well-being, attention, mood, or self-reported cognitive flexibility compared to placebo. Initial effects in some domains did not remain significant after correcting for multiple comparisons.

A randomised placebo-controlled study of the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide microdosing (15 μg) on pain perception in healthy volunteers

September 19, 2025

This randomised, placebo-controlled study (n=48) examining LSD microdosing (15 μg) for analgesia in healthy participants found no significant pain-relieving effects on pain tolerance or subjective pain perception using the Cold Pressor Task. LSD increased blood pressure, which correlated with pain tolerance, and post-hoc analysis in participants without ceiling effects suggested marginal improvements in pain tolerance and reduced unpleasantness only after the first dose, indicating that 15 μg may be below the threshold for consistent analgesic effects.

Assessing the Potential Cardiovascular Risk of Microdosing the Psychedelic LSD in Mice

September 12, 2025

This pre-clinical mouse study tested chronic administration of serotonin, d-fenfluramine, or subhallucinogenic doses of LSD on cardiovascular health. Serotonin and d-fenfluramine caused ventricular thickening and valve regurgitation, respectively, while LSD produced no significant ventricular or valvular changes. Receptor binding assays showed LSD, psilocybin, and norfenfluramine had similar affinity for 5-HT2B, but LSD’s activation was short-lived, providing no evidence of heart remodeling with prolonged low-dose LSD.

Health-related behavioral changes following the use of psychedelics in naturalistic settings

August 1, 2025

This cross-sectional study (n=2,510) of US adults with psychedelic experience found that participants retrospectively reported widespread improvements in health behaviours including reduced alcohol (66%) and tobacco (49%) use, better dietary habits (49%), and decreased impulsivity (48-72%), with microdosers and frequent users showing greater positive changes.

Safety and tolerability of multiple sublingual microdoses of 5-MeO-DMT in adults with moderate symptoms of depression and/or anxiety: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

July 20, 2025

This Phase I clinical trial (n=36) of sublingual 5-MeO-DMT (6-12 mg weekly doses over four weeks) in adults with moderate to high anxiety/depression demonstrated good safety and tolerability with no significant adverse events, rapid absorption with peak plasma concentrations at 20 minutes, dose-dependent neurophysiological modulation without full psychedelic effects, and maintenance of normal cognitive and behavioral function.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of sublingual microdosed lysergic acid diethylamide in healthy adult volunteers

April 22, 2025

This re-analysis of a Phase I RCT (n=80) examines the pharmacokinetics (how the body affects a drug) of LSD microdosing (10µg; 14x; 6w) in healthy adult males. The study established a one-compartment pharmacokinetic model showing an elimination half-life of 3.08h, found minimal physiological effects (<15% change in heart rate), noted possible influence of CYP enzymes on drug metabolism, and reported no changes in peripheral BDNF levels.

Safety and Efficacy of Repeated Low-Dose LSD for ADHD Treatment in Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial

April 3, 2025

This double-blind placebo-controlled trial (n=53) testing LSD microdosing (20μg; 2xp/w; 6w) for adults with moderate to severe ADHD found that while the treatment was safe and well-tolerated, it showed no advantage over placebo in reducing ADHD symptoms, with both groups showing similar improvements on standardised symptom measures.

Side Effects of Microdosing Lysergic Acid Diethylamide and Psilocybin: A Systematic Review of Potential Physiological and Psychiatric Outcomes

March 25, 2025

This systematic review (s=31) examines the side effects of microdosing LSD and psilocybin, finding that adverse effects are typically dose-dependent, mild, and short-lived. Common side effects include increased blood pressure, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. The review highlights the lack of standardised reporting on side effects and calls for future studies to provide more systematic and transparent assessments.

Global Trends in Psychedelic Microdosing: Demographics, Substance Testing Behavior, and Patterns of Use

November 15, 2024

This online survey (n=6,193; 2,488 microdosers) examines differences between exclusive microdosers and those who use both micro and macrodoses of psychedelics. The study finds exclusive microdosers were typically older, more likely to be female and non-Caucasian, with psilocybin (74.5%) and LSD (34.4%) being the most commonly used substances, primarily for general wellbeing (73.0%).

Psilocybin-assisted neurofeedback for the improvement of executive functions: a randomized semi-naturalistic-lab feasibility study

November 14, 2024

This randomised feasibility study (n=37) evaluates psilocybin-assisted (microdoses x 6) frontal-midline theta neurofeedback (NF) to improve executive functions (EFs) in participants with psychiatric disorders. Despite no significant improvements in tasks-based EFs, the experimental group reported medium to high gains in daily EFs, indicating the potential benefits of this neuromodulation technique for enhancing daily functioning.

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