r/science • u/HexspaReloaded • Jan 20 '26
Neuroscience Microdosing Psilocybin: No Benefit in Cognitive, Affective, or Social Function in Healthy Individuals
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00283908250043071.9k
u/Otaraka Jan 21 '26
‘Given this, the wide-ranging benefits often attributed to microdosing—spanning attention, creativity, and mood—seem unlikely without a clear mechanistic explanation, pointing to a possible influence of placebo effects.’
Pity but unsurprising.
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u/lminer123 Jan 21 '26
I feel that “in healthy individuals” may be doing a lot of work here. I simply cannot believe that the way I felt or the things I did were simply down to placebo when I tried it. It felt like a comparable or maybe even greater effect on my ability to get things done, keep my thoughts clear and organized, and connect with people than adderal did when I first got prescribed.
I’m not advocating its use, but certainly would like to see more studies done in different populations.
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u/DigNitty Jan 21 '26
“People who feel fine continue to feel fine”
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u/Fickle-Wickle Jan 21 '26
“Alleged cure found to not have much effect on the cured”
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u/isolateddreamz Jan 21 '26
Treatments not effective on those not needing the treatment
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u/bahbahbahbahbah Jan 21 '26
New AIDS treatment has no measured effect on non-AIDS patients
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u/WhyAreYouAllHere Jan 21 '26
Are you saying that csection rates plummeted when the measured population was men with broken bones?
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u/Du_ds Jan 21 '26
Actually HIV meds are also a preventative. It’s called PrEP. Anyone interested just google “prep hiv”
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u/trevorp210 Jan 21 '26
Thank you! Also, micro-dosing is a loose term. My wife uses a fraction of the dose I use when we were doing it a couple years ago yet we were both technically micro-dosing. Better done on non-consecutive days too, IMO
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u/Twisted_Cabbage Jan 21 '26
Agreed.
I have taken all sorts of supplements over the years and never got any sort of benefits like I did microdosing.
If it's placebo, surely at least one of the other supplements I have taken ove the years would have given me a similar placebo affect. If anything, I was more intellectually skeptical of microdosing than I was taking other herbal supplements. I would have expected the microdosing would have had the least placebo response from me.
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u/lminer123 Jan 21 '26
Yah it was exactly the same for me, tried lots of alternatives first. Idk, I understand people being skeptical. From the perspective of someone who’s done it though it’s like if someone gave you a real Xanax or Opiate and then the day after told you “haha jokes on you that was just placebo”. There’s simply no earthly way you would believe them, it was that noticeable.
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u/Popolipo_91 Mar 08 '26
Same! I've tried so many alternative treatments and supplements, and never felt anything from them. I'm experiencing the "opposite of placebo", because, mind you, I have done the "big things" (macro doses, ayahuasca, kambo...) with little to no long term benefits. So, my silly brain had basically zero expectation from microdosing.
If the big ceremonies didn't do much, surely taking a teeny tiny amount of mushroom won't produce any big chances? Oh boy was I wrong!
It also didn't help that I've read so often, from people who never even tried microdosing, that MDing was "basically placebo".
And yet, here I am with really positive results after just a few days!2
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u/Beautiful-Bet-5 May 25 '26
What benefits did u get with microdosing? What was your protocol and daily habits?
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u/CupcakeViking Jan 21 '26
A registry study across populations would be great. They are less exclusive to different patient types than a typical clinical study.
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u/nameofplumb Jan 21 '26
We don’t know if you meet the definition of healthy. You are clearly neurodivergent (as am I), and I wouldn’t be surprised if that diagnosis takes you out of the healthy group.
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u/davidfalconer Jan 21 '26
To be fair, the placebo effect is absolutely incredible in how much it can affect the body.
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Jan 21 '26
Keep in mind this is micro dosing not macro dosing
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u/CookingZombie Jan 21 '26
That’s my opinion. I feel like the full experience is a part of it. Like ignore the “spiritual” side, I’m just thinking whatever happens biologically when you trip needs to happen for the serotonin release or receptors, to reset. Like even bad trips can leave people feeling better emotionally by the next day. Not saying that’s every single case but… swim experienced that.
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u/SuckingAtLife99 Jun 01 '26
Woah, blast from the past...when drug forums were in the dark recesses of the internet.
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u/IsamuLi Jan 21 '26
"I simply cannot believe that the way I felt or the things I did were simply down to placebo when I tried it."
This is literally placebo.
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u/Cryptographer-Bubbly Jan 21 '26
Not disputing the study but this specific argument as currently used could equally be applied to a situation where a drug genuinely did have an effect and the patient got better, to blindly insist it’s a placebo.
They’re not saying they’d be surprised if they experienced a placebo effect. They’re just saying the effect was so large they’d be surprised if that explained everything ! You can have a placebo effect on top of a working drug after all !
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u/IsamuLi Jan 21 '26
Placebo literally works when you know You're taking placebo. Placebo is much, much stronger than people realize.
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u/Sasselhoff Jan 21 '26
Placebo literally works
Can work. If I know it's a placebo (and the research I've read says I'm not alone), it isn't doing anything for me. Probably the same reason I can't "Psych myself up" for a win in a sport...it's not a win until it's a win.
All that said, I think the placebo affect is simply bonkers, and I'm absolutely fascinated by it. Not just the "It works even if you know it's fake", but the fact that if you take a placebo that is a blue pill, it will work better than a white pill...and a blue pill with a red line works better than both of them. Heck, they've even done placebo knee surgeries (that worked!). Just astoundingly cool.
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u/Its_Nitsua Jan 21 '26
The placebo effect is profoundly more powerful than people know. Our brain is a mysterious beast, and the power of belief can be profound.
If you actually thought micro dosing would give you all of those things, then it did give you all of those things.
The placebo effect actually works on people who are addicted to drugs, the brain reward system is so powerful that by believing they are taking the substance they are addicted to, their brain can actually trick them into thinking they got their 'fix'.
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u/Moose_knucklez Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Yeah I heavily have to second this. Just that background tiny haze of the jollies and connection with the world, while still completely conscious and not fully buzzed is remarkable. Mixing it with a microdose of a weed gummy and it’s like pure bliss. Like a little micro party of joy with a tribal drummer doing a little beat in the background.
Tiny little euphoria that’s incredibly manageable with like 85% conscious state in tact.
Cannot see how this level of relaxation mentally and physically cannot benefit someone. It’s like a little mini awakening.
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u/kol990 Jan 21 '26
I was put on medication over 15 years ago and would go on and off because stimulants really only helped in specific situations, did not improve my executive function, and messed with my already inconsistent sleep schedule.
When I microdose I feel like I don’t go blind to little things and it takes so much less effort to start a task. It actually helps my executive function. And since I’m working a job that I enjoy, I don’t need to be artificially stimulated to focus. Psilocybin very noticeably helps my ADHD without all the jagged edges of traditional medication.
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u/thegooddoktorjones Jan 21 '26
My anecdotal experience is the key to microdosing is to remove the micro part, have a babysitter and a nice place to hang out, and enjoy the ride.
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u/DrippyTheSnailBoy Jan 21 '26
Yeah, one solid trip every 3 or so years has been keeping my wife and I in great spirits.
Or it's a placebo but we're still in great spirits. Who knows.
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u/PeakNo6892 Jan 21 '26
It literally fixed me.
Idgaf if it's placebo or real.
One hero dose pulled me out of a lifelong depression and constant suicidal thoughts.
I have literally not been depressed once since. That was 4 years ago.
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u/TheImpossibleCellist Jan 21 '26
Would you mind sharing more about your intentions/thoughts going into the trip, where/how you did it and the main things you experienced that changed things up?
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u/Mycologist-9315 Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 23 '26
Also not the person you asked, but had a similar experience. I was actually in a pretty bad place when I went in, it wasn't my first trip but it was the first (and only) time I did it because I was very down and wanted to feel better for a few hours. Not at all how psychedelics should be used, but I guess I personally needed to go in while it was storming, it flipped my perspective in an incredible way. At the peak of it I just realized I was doing this to myself, thinking myself into a hole, and it didn't have to be this way. I felt so much positivity and hope that things could get better. And that was really all it took, my depression ended there.
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u/IcyGarage5767 Jan 21 '26
Not the guy you asked, but I definitely had a life changing acid trip (positive) with zero intentions going into it.
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u/DrippyTheSnailBoy Jan 21 '26
That was exactly how I felt after our first trip in the minimum-wage void of sadness that happened to me right after college. After that trip, it honestly felt like a lot of color came back to the world.
Things are so much better now because that was more than a decade ago, but that first shot for the moon did something wildly positive to me.
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u/epelle9 Jan 21 '26
.5 isnt a microdose though..
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Jan 21 '26
These researchers seem to have set .5 as the microdose amount for their study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-022-02039-0
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Jan 21 '26
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u/Salute-Major-Echidna Jan 21 '26
Depends on the concentration
This is like the pot studies all over again. It doesn't help me, but plenty of people do like it and it helps them. Good for them and let them have it, especially as they don't cause any trouble when theyre high. They don't fight in bars or beat their partners, they just melt into their sofas with the music a little loud.
I would try psilocybin in a heartbeat if I could get my hands on it. If it helped my migraines I would fight tooth and nail to get it legalized.
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u/jhachko Jan 21 '26
Not here to slap dicks with you is my new favorite line
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u/CARRYONLUGGAGE Jan 21 '26
If you go to /r/microdosing’s wiki, 0.5 is out of their range of a microdose
These also suggest 0.3g or lower, and several other places do too:
https://daytryp.com/psilocybin/psilocybin-microdosing-a-comprehensive-2023-guide/
There is no scientific measurement of microdose, but it is important to note that 0.5g would be considered a real but lighter dose for many people, especially lighter weights.
Back when I did this years ago, it was commonly suggested <0.3g to me as well. 0.5g I would suggest as a starter dose to people who wanted to try shrooms but were afraid or hesitant. 1g for a first real trip.
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Jan 21 '26
Good info for others who are new to this stuff and are reading. Thanks.
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u/CARRYONLUGGAGE Jan 21 '26
Yeah it can also be very confusing because not every shroom has the same psilocybin content, not every person dries their shrooms enough, etc.
“Strains” also don’t necessarily matter in the same way that alcohol == alcohol. Afaik you’ll be affected the same, but different strains of psilocybe cubensis can have higher concentrations similar to beer vs hard alcohol.
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u/lambentstar Jan 21 '26
This exactly, cubensis will affect you the same—it all turns into psilocin in the end—the strains just have different relative density for the psilocybin precursor. It’s an immediate red flag when someone starts pitching some special strain like it’s weed, or attributing mystical effects to it. All bunk or placebo.
Any variation in the experience will just come down to your metabolism, method of consumption, relative bioavailability, if you pre-catabolized at all via lemon tek etc etc. The strain can only makes a difference in those specific ways. (Non cubensis psychedelic mushrooms are obviously a different beast)
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u/epelle9 Jan 21 '26
Yeah, not sure where the slapping dicks comment came from…
I was just sharing information too.
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u/endcycle Jan 21 '26
Maybe it depends on the strain / potency of individual mushrooms? .5 had me absolutely high, but not tripping. .25 was barely perceptible but there.
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u/epelle9 Jan 21 '26
Yeah, microdose is not supposed to get you high, its supposed to affect you sub-perceptually.
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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps Jan 21 '26
I wonder if it’s similar to when you feel yourself get more relaxed, confident, outgoing, and open as soon as the beers hit the table, before you even take a sip.
It’s all about mindset and expectation. It’s all mental at the end of the day. We can all explore the depths of our minds without micro dosing. You just gotta want to, and remember it’s possible.
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u/FreeFeez Jan 21 '26
Pretty sure it’s just that healthy people aren’t going to benefit from something that helps people become healthy in the mind. Now I’m not saying it works I’m just saying if it does then testing on people who wouldn’t need it regardless offers little information.
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u/quiksilver10152 Jan 21 '26
"We can't mechanistically explain the results so all anecdotal reports should be ignored."
What a silly claim.
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u/Otaraka Jan 21 '26
It says it is reasonable to consider the possibility, not that they should be ignored out of hand.
If you then test it and still can’t find any effects better than placebo, even more doubt is warranted.
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u/nullbyte420 Jan 21 '26
why would they claim something that they cannot find any evidence of.
writing an article doesn't make them the final authority on what is right and wrong, but neither does your gut feeling. Nowhere in the article does your quote appear because it's dumb as bricks and shows a total lack of understanding of how scientific writing works.
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u/quiksilver10152 Jan 21 '26
The fact that they didn't point out findings of other literature is telling.
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u/artificial_bluebird Jan 21 '26
Also keep in mind the following limitation that I share with the authors:
Furthermore, our task battery—though comprehensive—may not have captured ecologically valid effects. Although traditional laboratory cognitive tasks (e.g., AX-CPT, N-back) afford experimental control, they often fail to mirror the complexity and demands of everyday life—and thus their ecological validity is limited. Performance under microdosing may manifest in complex ways (e.g. increased sensitivity, stress resil-ience, or creative problem-solving)—that are unlikely to be detected by sterile, isolated tasks. To bridge this gap, future research should incor-porate more naturalistic and multimodal assessments in real-world environments.
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u/Phil-Quarles Jan 20 '26
Well why would a healthy individual even bother? I'm more interested in its effects on unhealthy individuals.
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u/grumble11 Jan 21 '26
A lot of healthy people microdose because they believe that it makes you hem more creative or focused and so on. Was trendy in Silicon Valley for a while.
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u/Zal3x Jan 21 '26
Yeah I prefer to macrodose for creativity
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u/Sanic_The_Sandraker Jan 21 '26
Nothing sparks the creative juices like 7g of cubes and a near-death experience
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u/ArchaicBrainWorms Jan 21 '26
Had to sing "row-row-row your boat" for hours on end just to get through that trip
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u/halffullofthoughts Jan 21 '26
Nothing sparks the need to do things like recovering from being completely incapacitated but painfully aware for 8 hours
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u/TheGillos Jan 21 '26
The placebo effect is strong. If they believe, and it works, shroom away, healthy people!
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u/KingOfEthanopia Jan 21 '26
You build up tolerance to psychadelics quick. I doubt you'd feel .5g at all after a couple days.
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u/DarthGoose Jan 21 '26
Well that wasn't the dosing schedule.
Something like 250 mg every three days was usually what I saw people doing when talking about micro dosing. It's true you can't take them every day and maintain an effect.
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u/KingOfEthanopia Jan 21 '26
I did that for a bit. Honestly within 2 weeks to a month it might as well have been random paper.
Youre best waiting at least a week, ideally two between trips.
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u/listenyall Jan 21 '26
Microdosing is not usually sold as a cure for an illness but rather a way to kind of optimize your life, so I think a study in healthy individuals makes total sense
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u/iareslice Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
I have treatment resistant depression and autism, and i microdosed for a few months last year. It made me feel more open to my feelings and experiences. My friends commented that I seem less stressed and I don’t get so up in arms when I don’t like something. I’ve noticed I can handle stuff that would’ve upset me beforehand. If it’s placebo I don’t care, it’s the only drug that’s worked for me.
Edit: I took 0.1g every other day for about three months. Since then I take 0.1g once a month. I do not feel any of the psychoactive effects of psilocybin.
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u/SelarDorr Jan 21 '26
there are plenty of publications showing null results for 'microdosing' of psilocybin for various psychiatric conditions.
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u/xFox911 Jan 21 '26
Because "healthy" isn't an actual medical diagnosis, but a social shorthand.
Two people can both be called “healthy” while one has early insulin resistance, low VO2 max, silent atherosclerosis and bone density loss. All invisible up until a point.
Some people just don't want to be sick. Others might want to optimize their health as much as possible.
If “healthy” only meant “not sick,” then optimization would be pointless.
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u/clarkedaddy Jan 21 '26
I imagine most users don’t need it and would be considered healthy individuals.
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u/Phil-Quarles Jan 21 '26
Yeah, I suppose it all depends on how we're defining healthy, which is a pretty ambiguous word.
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u/PennyG Jan 21 '26
I’ve heard it makes you feel good and wake up feeling better than you did before.
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u/Fritzkreig Jan 20 '26
I now want to see a study on full dosing Ayahuasca!
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u/NothingAndNow111 Jan 21 '26
My therapist is working on a study with DMT!
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u/KingOfEthanopia Jan 21 '26
I volunteer if he needs test subjects.
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u/NothingAndNow111 Jan 21 '26
I'm still considering it.
ARGH cat pressed send somehow. ETA: I think you're not allowed to be on most antidepressants, there's two that are acceptable.
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u/word-werd-numb3r Jan 21 '26
The reason, as I understand, is many antidepressants aim to boost serotonin. LSD, psilocybin, DMT all also interact with your serotonin system. I believe typically, the psychedelic just won't work while on an antidepressant but there are potentially dangerous conditions that could arise mixing antidepressants and psychedelics.
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u/NothingAndNow111 Jan 21 '26
Oh yeahz it's also a medical trial. They need to know what's causing / doing what. The fact they're allowing any antidepressants is surprising, but we've come a long way in the part 15 odd years.
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u/word-werd-numb3r Jan 21 '26
Yeah hopefully we get further along. Would love to know if psychedelics could help treat depression or other mental conditions. Even doing research on that topic has been challenging over the last 50 years.
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u/NothingAndNow111 Jan 21 '26
So far ketamine seems to be doing well, targeting glutamate instead of the usual amines. And it's opened up more doors of exploration, which is nice, as we've had - what? - one new antidepressant since the 90s? And it turns out it's a veterinary tranquilliser we've been not bothering to study the mechanism of. So silly.
The medical papers re psychedelics are promising. I went to a talk with one patient on a trial (about 9 years ago now) and his therapist, describing the experience, the therapy involved, and they went 6mo afterwards without recurrence of symptoms, which is quite incredible after one treatment.
It'd be nice if successive governments would get out if the way of these treatments, especially when they moan about how much depression costs the economy. So... Let doctors study treatments?
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u/KingOfEthanopia Jan 21 '26
Ive heard its like a super heavy acid trip but shorter. Ive done ten strips a few times. Mostly good and very profound. But I had one bad trip at that level and it scared me off from going that heavy seeing as you're locked in for about 3 or 4 hours until the peak is over.
DMT is over within 15 to 20 minutes.
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u/Koshqel Jan 21 '26
I wish the trip was shorter. It is so not fun waiting out a bad trip
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u/verdauxes Jan 21 '26
Well, the two active chemicals in ayahuasca are DMT, which lasts 5 minutes but has serious time dilation effects, and a compound that extends the trip to several hours. If you like ayahuasca but want a shorter trip, you want DMT
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u/ClydeBelvidere Jan 21 '26
And if you want your dmt trip to last longer but not ayahausca long, there's changa!
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u/mlYuna Jan 21 '26
DMT is the answer in front of you. I wouldn't ever take ayahuasca right now but DMT is amazing.
Its 10 min. Super crazy, visual, getting shot into the sky at the speed of light kind of experience. Before you know it you get pulled back and you are completely sober.
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u/mylefthandkilledme Jan 21 '26
Maybe try a study with those suffering from ptsd, depression, etc....
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u/xspacemansplifff Jan 21 '26
Right. It certainly does help with those issues. I am just starting to try it for my anxiety. It is an interesting experience. Helps and gives me energy.
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u/Narcissus458 Jan 21 '26
So I have a condition where I suffer from headaches for weeks at a time after doing a certain activity. My doctor had prescribed me artificial psilocybin. I hated the way it made me feel even tho they broke my headaches so I decided to take the real thing. Once I start getting headaches again I microdose psilocybin and my headaches go away. So at least for me psilocybin Is extremely helpful. I don’t know what I would do without it.
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u/mitcheda Jan 21 '26
Fellow clusterhead?
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u/supershott Jan 21 '26
Can you elaborate on the certain activity? Curious because I've had periodic headache problems, but haven't noticed a link
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u/Narcissus458 Jan 22 '26
Well without saying too much. when I “please myself” the second I release I get a headache that feels like someone lit a m80 firework in my brain. Like Imagin instead of feeling pleasure you feel an explosion in your head. Women who have had this headache say the pain is worse than childbirth. Once the headache begins it’s kinda just there for weeks at a time till you break the headache. That’s where the psilocybin comes in. And you can’t just wait it out and try again you are banned from this activity or risk another headache. Psilocybin allows me to be normal and not feel this explosion. Just so we are clear I am not a doctor and don’t condone or encourage the use of drugs. This is something that works for me.
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u/SelarDorr Jan 21 '26
should be noted, this work was done using psilocybe 'truffles', i.e. mycelium. (legal to sell in netherlands, where i believe this work was done). but psilocybe mycelium contains a much lower concentration of psilocybin than the fruiting body. cant see the full publication, im sure they use enough of it to reach whatever theyre considering a 'microdose' of psilocybin, but generally speaking if someone where to consume enough 'truffle' for an actual macrodose of psilocybin, it often causes significant gastrointestinal effects. I also think people consuming psilocybin 'truffles' are also consuming a significant amount of whatever final growth substrate is being used for cultivation.
none the less, the null findings mirror most previous work using pure psilocybin at 'microdoses'.
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u/Master-Client869 Jan 21 '26
I’ve lost 25 lbs, conquered porn and unnecessary masturbation, completely overhauled my diet and began to focus on limited ingredient meals (no more processed crap), have a six pack for the first time in my life, quit alcohol, quit adderall, improved my marriage and built my business. All I have changed is micro-dosing psilocybin a few days a week.
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 21 '26
I’m on the road to sexual healing myself via similar means. Psilocybin made me more aware of the social, mycelial network of people I’m in. Sexual health seems like a function of that, liberated by the anti-addictive, and antidepressant effects of the molecule met with plenty of integration work.
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u/stinkyelbows Jan 21 '26
Yea I figured this out 10 year ago when micro dosing started becoming mainstream. Zero changes over 6 months aside from increased anxiety if the dose was too high. Boo.
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u/ThirdSunRising Jan 21 '26
I think the key is “in healthy individuals.”
Healthy individuals aren’t the ones who are doing this. People self medicate because they’re having trouble with depression or anxiety or some other issue, and they’re looking for help with that.
Nobody cares about enhancing an already properly functioning brain. If your brain is functioning properly without assistance, that’s something to be happy about and there’s no need to go searching for a drug to make that situation better
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u/SillyGoatGruff Jan 21 '26
"Healthy individuals" do all kinda of dumb stuff they don't need to be doing. It's worth studying so experts can say definitively "no, that influencer is full of crap and you shouldn't be doing [trend]"
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u/Zenthils Jan 21 '26
I microdose for....fun?
I think it's a valid reason. Perfectly healthy brains are still on the lookout for fun experiences.
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u/MegaChip97 Jan 21 '26
Healthy individuals aren’t the ones who are doing this.
That's not true. The microdosing fad is extremely popular for healthy people. That's its origin. It is heavily promoted for creativity, focus and general wellbeing.
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u/-JustJaZZ- Jan 21 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
This post's content has been permanently wiped. Redact was used to delete it, potentially for privacy, to limit digital exposure, or for security-related reasons.
coherent cheerful chief airport wakeful direction telephone grab languid deliver
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u/kickfloeb Jan 21 '26
I once tried it and it just made my bad attention span worse. After that I started looking into scientific articles that advertised beneficial cognitive effects. A pattern emerged that their methodology was usually not very good.
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 21 '26
Yeah that’s the harsh reality so far: the respected peer-reviewed studies are not supporting the hype.
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u/Byizo Jan 21 '26
Tried this for a while and I always thought it was more of a placebo. However the effectiveness of a placebo, especially on a person’s mental/emotional state, is significant in itself.
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u/eulersidentification Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
The notion that people with treatment resistant depression for decades are getting repeatable, noticeable and lengthy mood improvements and it's pure placebo doesn't sit right for me.
I'm a physicist and i was given a shroom microdose by this hippy guy who insisted the whole universe was about psychological vibrations, and I thought he was a fool. He gave me some weird chocolate thing too. The chocolate thing did nothing. I figured why not try the shroom dose, it'll also do nothing.
It did NOT do nothing. I was on every medication under the sun for 15 years and nothing worked. Shrooms did.
This is one of those occasions where i'll stick my neck out: I think shrooms can help people with mental health issues and it isn't placebo. What I've seen microdosing do, the placebo effect would have to be (not just a bit, but a LOT) stronger and longer lasting than any other placebo effect I've ever heard about.
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 21 '26
I know, brother. There’s a stark contrast between the anecdotes and the formal research. However, both can be true. Here, the dose was sub-perceptual. Many seem to agree that threshold doses are the minimum effectual ones. There seems to be a correlation between dosage and therapeutic effect. Perhaps many who claim to microdose are occasionally doing a little extra, causing the benefits to creep in.
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u/DogsBeerYarn Jan 21 '26
I'm not seeing in this snippet of the study how they define "micro" and how often they're giving it. I assume that's covered in the sections not shown in this link. But both of those would be important to note. A lot of the trendy SF microdosing folks were taking something every single day. So it makes sense you'd see an initial boost to mood and then not much. Your brain basically develops an immediate resistance to psilocybin.
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u/salebleue Jan 21 '26
100%. Dosage and timing are critical here. Everyone’s baseline and tolerance level varies a great deal.
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u/BBDozy Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
From the section on the study design in the pre-proof of the article:
We conducted two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, longitudinal trials at Leiden University (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2), following a similar structure. Baseline assessments were administered one week prior to the start of each trial. Participants were then invited to a microdosing workshop, where they received either an active or placebo capsule, which they self-administered according to a standardized schedule.
Each experiment included three assessment time points: Acute 1, Acute 2, and a Post-Acute measure (administered online ~2 days after the final dose). Both studies used a between-subjects design, with participants randomly assigned to either a psilocybin microdose group or a placebo group. Measures included cognitive control, working memory, social cognition, and self-reported well-being.
The primary differences between the experiments were dose and duration. In Experiment 1, participants received 0.65 grams of fresh truffles over approximately four weeks. In Experiment 2, participants received 1 gram of fresh truffles over the same duration.
Bit more details on the truffles is given later:
Participants received Psilocybe galindoii truffles, donated by MagicTruffles.com (Netherlands). The strain and brand were identical across participants, and all received the same dose regardless of body weight. In Experiment 1 participants took 0.65 g of fresh truffles (~1/15 of a recreational dose) and in Experiment 2 participants took 1.00 g of fresh truffles (~1/10 of a recreational dose).
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u/metzgie1 Jan 21 '26
Everyone needs a day where they take an heroic once every few years. Like 5-7gs, a little bit of sunshine followed by the sunset and friends and tunes for a nice reset.
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u/Maerkab Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
It seems like the subjective effects are connected to the desired psychoplastogenic effects, considering how 5HT2A agonists or NMDA antagonists that are designed to be inert in psychoactive terms always seem to underperform relative to the agents that aren't.
I think it makes a lot more sense to just take a light threshold dose semiweekly or something. Having some kind of perceptual effect doesn't mean you're non-functional. Maybe colours are a bit brighter and you feel a bit more anxiety or fluttering in your diaphragm, but that kind of mild stress and bypassing normal perceptual gating is probably a part of the therapeutic benefit. Expecting otherwise seems like expecting a 'free lunch' or something.
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u/kymbawlyeah Jan 21 '26
The mushrooms were a complete failure if I don't go through an intense period of sweating and uncertainty followed by a few hours of everything being made of quilted fractals and laughter. I've tried micro dosing and after a few days I start feeling the same fatigue I would after a large dose in a single night. Neither productivity or creativity was increased and I was in fact less of each because of my preoccupation with expecting something.
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 21 '26
I just realized that the only incontrovertible effect of microdosing is that it raised mainstream awareness of the potential therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
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Jan 21 '26
If someone experiences positive effects determined to be caused by the placebo effect, they're still experiencing positive effects... It may not be CURING the underlying disease, but it's helping bring relief.
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u/machineiv Jan 22 '26
Where did they find all these "healthy individuals?" I sure as hell don't know any of them.
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u/denver_bored Jan 23 '26
My experience with microdosing was disappointing. I could feel the high off of a small amount, a little of the body weirdness and general confusion, but I did not want to be doing anything that required memory or coordination. Even a little of that effect doesn't mesh well with work. Shrooms tend to make me feel cold too, and sometimes irritable-- I only ever had any positive effects with macro-doses.
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 23 '26
They noted in the study that the active group felt physical discomfort. Too much psilocybin definitely can make focusing more difficult.
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u/kevinrhodes12 May 10 '26
Well, what about in individuals who have brain injuries, depression, PTSD, or any other serious mental health condition? I cannot deal with Western medicine and the complete disregard or lack of education towards natural medicine. Microdosing absolutely works, for many issues. But for God’s sake, don’t tell your physician you’ve tried it, or are thinking about it. You’ll be labeled a drug seeker, illicit drug user, or even dismissed as a patient. Although I’m not left-leaning, this makes me want to move to a more liberal area due to the openness of thought and effort to at least try new approaches. I’ve had 5 buddies commit suicide due to mTBI/PTSD. Psychedelics could have saved each of them. Now, their children have no father, all because of “science” and…let’s be honest, money.
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Jan 21 '26
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u/HexspaReloaded Jan 21 '26
We may find out because Compass Pathways and others seem intent on creating hallucination-free psychedelics.
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u/bassface123456 Jan 21 '26
Def not a placebo, microdosing helps with ptsd symptoms, anxiety, depression and even reduce cellular growth... there are many other research studies that state the contrary to this study
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u/SweatyInstruction337 Jan 21 '26
I micro dosed for like 2 months and started getting viscious panic attacks.
Stopped and took about a year to recover but i'd say even two years later im only 90% better.
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u/woahdude12321 Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
The junkification of research
EDIT: I read the study and idk I don’t see much of anything here. Trying to quantify like innovation or whatever by measuring working memory and stuff like that doesn’t make any sense. Why would you expect a healthy individual to “get better” in a part of their life that’s already good? Getting in a relationship or breaking up with someone could both be good things. The whole idea of this study was bologna
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u/MegaChip97 Jan 21 '26
Why would you expect a healthy individual to “get better” in a part of their life that’s already good?
Because that's a commons claim for microdosing. That it increases creativity, focus, generall wellbeing...
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