Microdosing Research

This survey study assessed the relationship between microdosing and trait anxiety through an online survey with current microdosers (n=186), former microdosers (n=77) and microdosing-naïve controls (n=234). Current and former microdosers reported lower STAI-T scores compared to microdosing-naïve controls while associations of current and former microdosing with trait anxiety were mediated by trait mindfulness. All associations between microdosing and STAI-T scores became non-significant when participants with previous macrodose experience (n=386) were excluded.

This preprint (n=41) explores how people use low doses of psychedelics to complement high-dose therapeutic and spiritual experiences by conducting a secondary analysis of interviews from a private-sector wellness company that provides psychedelics educational materials and coaching. High-dose psychedelics are most often meaningful for belief re-appraisal and acute mental illness, while lose-dose experiences benefit behavioural change, relationship development, and managing episodic stress. Low dosing appears to help users “integrate” the existential and therapeutic insights from high doses by improving in-the-moment mindfulness of everyday challenges.

This interview study (n=4 couples) explored the MDMA micro-dosing sexual experiences of four partnered men and women. Thematic analysis identified three key narratives: increased sexual self-efficacy; sexual exploration; and heightened relationship satisfaction. The use of microdosing MDMA had a positive effect on sexual and physical well-being by reducing stress and performance-related anxiety. Whilst higher doses of MDMA hindered sexual functioning this did not negatively impact the emotional and sensory experiences.

This double-blind placebo-controlled trial (n=34) assessed natural language as a resource to identify speech produced under the acute effects of psilocybin microdoses (0.5g dried mushroom), focusing on variables known to be affected by higher doses: verbosity, semantic variability and sentiment score. Verbosity and sentiment scores significantly differed between groups suggesting that microdosing can be identified from natural speech.

This survey study (n=118) analysed qualitative reports regarding microdosing. Data from participants suggested four main emergent themes: reasons for microdosing, the practice of microdosing itself, outcomes linked to microdosing, and meta-commentary about microdosing.

This double-blind placebo-controlled microdosing study (n=56) explored the effects of four repeated doses of LSD (13 or 26μg) on measures of mood and cognition. LSD administration sessions were separated by 3-4 days. LSD (26μg) produced modest subjective effects but did not improve mood or affect performance. While LSD was safely administered, low doses of LSD produced negligible changes in mood or cognition in healthy volunteers.

This double-blind placebo-controlled microdosing study (n=75) showed that psilocybin microdoses (0.7g dried truffles, 15mg psilocybin, about 1/10th a high dose) didn’t alter self-awareness or modulate emotion processing. The confirmatory analysis also found no effects, but an exploratory analysis showed some reduction of depression and stress in only the first block.

This double-blind placebo-controlled preprint study (n=34) assessed the effects of microdosing psilocybin (0.5g dried mushrooms, about 0.9mg psilocybin) on subjective experience, behaviour, creativity, perception, cognition, and brain activity. Participants received two doses (psilocybin/placebo) administered separately, one week apart. Subjective effects were more intense for the active dose, while null effects or a trend towards cognitive impairment were observed. Expectation effects may be, in part, responsible for the anecdotal benefits of microdosing.

This double-blind study (n=22) investigated the effects of microdosing LSD (13μg & 26μg) on resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potential (ERP) in healthy adults. The study found that microdoses of LSD produced desynchronization patterns similar to those reported with higher doses of psychedelics, leading the authors to believe that microdoses of LSD may produce therapeutic effects in the absence of a full psychedelic experience.

This diary study (n>100) investigates the “safe and beneficial” use of psychedelic microdosing (e.g. 10μg LSD) to improve positive moods by evaluating positive and negative emotional states using the PANAS checklist and written reports. The study showed that microdosers perceived improved health habits, increased energy, and improved work effectiveness. Furthermore, smaller samples demonstrated alleviation of symptoms in migraine headaches, traumatic brain injury, pre-menstrual syndromes (PMS), shingles, and other such conditions that have not been previously associated with psychedelic use.