- Microdosing LSD resulted in immediate improvements in various mood-related metrics, such as creativity, connectedness, energy, and general wellness on dosing days.
- Despite these short-term benefits, there were no significant long-lasting changes in mood or cognitive function observed post-intervention.
- The study indicated a potential risk of anxiety from microdosing, leading to withdrawal of some participants, highlighting the need for careful dose management in future trials.
Introduction to Microdosing Trials
Microdosing psychedelic substances, particularly LSD, has become increasingly popular, with numerous anecdotal reports claiming enhancements to mood and cognitive functions. However, prior randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted within artificial laboratory settings reported only minor immediate effects without any evidence of sustained benefits. This recent RCT aimed to fill the ecological validity gap by allowing participants to self-administer microdoses of LSD over a six-week period in a naturalistic setting, as opposed to the limited timeframe seen in previous studies.
Study Design
The study involved healthy male volunteers who were randomly assigned to receive either 10μg of LSD or an inactive placebo (distilled water) in 14 separate doses across six weeks, administered every three days. Self-recorded videos were utilized to confirm that participants adhered to the dosing schedule. Alongside the dosing periods, various questionnaires were distributed to assess mood, cognition, and other psychological measures at baseline, midway, and at the end of the study. Noteworthy results regarding creativity, neural plasticity, and blood biomarkers are expected to be reported in separate analyses.
Results Overview
Out of 136 initially screened participants, 80 were enrolled in the randomized trial, primarily identifying as New Zealand European. While both the LSD and placebo groups reported adverse events, the experience of heightened anxiety was particularly noted among those in the LSD group. Some participants had to adjust their dosage, and a few withdrew from the study due to anxiety. Nevertheless, those on microdoses exhibited significantly improved self-reported moods related to creativity, energy, happiness, irritability, and overall wellness on the days they consumed the LSD compared to non-dose days. However, no lasting effects were observed after the intervention period.
Discussion and Implications
The findings from this study suggest that microdosing LSD can yield immediate positive effects on mood, counteracting some symptoms associated with anhedonia, or the inability to feel pleasure. However, participants did not report increased motivation levels, which is critical for overcoming anhedonic states. This indicates that microdosing may be more effective when combined with therapeutic interventions aimed at enhancing motivation. Despite the promising effects observed on dosing days, anxiety emerged as a notable concern, with four participants discontinuing their involvement in the study due to anxiety. This begs the consideration for an initial lower dose with gradual increases in future trials to mitigate such risks.
While the researchers successfully achieved blinding in the placebo group, there were indications that participants receiving LSD could guess their treatment status, potentially confounding the results. Follow-up analyses showed that positive effects of microdosing could not be solely attributed to participant expectations. Interestingly, there was a marked shift in how participants perceived the efficacy of microdosing after their experiences, emphasizing the complexities surrounding subjective beliefs and drug effects.
Challenges and Future Directions
The Covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to the data collection for the study, suggesting that interpretations of the results must be approached with caution, especially in light of the different analytical methods utilized (Intention to Treat vs. Per Protocol). Ultimately, this RCT provides insight into the acute mood-enhancing properties of LSD microdosing in healthy adult males, while emphasizing the absence of proven, long-term changes in mood or cognitive processes resulting from the intervention.
Read the full paper summary on Blossom.
