Summary Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study | Translational Psychiatry www.nature.com
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Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms showed minimal cognitive impairment, with participant expectations playing a role in the perceived effects, suggesting the need for more extensive studies using larger samples and various psychedelics.
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Slide Presentation (13 slides)
Key Points
- A double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted to investigate the effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
- The study found that the acute effects of microdosing were more intense than the placebo for participants who correctly identified their experimental condition.
- However, for all other measurements, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment.
- The study did not find evidence to support the enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function often attributed to microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
- Expectations play a significant role in the perceived effects of microdosing, and unblinding of the experimental condition can lead to biased results.
- The study highlights the importance of rigorous scientific investigation when assessing the effects of microdosing and the need for further research to fully understand its potential benefits and limitations.
- Future research should explore different dosing schedules, the impact on specific populations, and the potential long-term safety concerns of microdosing with psychedelics.
- The study also emphasized the need to consider the potency and composition of the samples used in research and the variability of dosing schedules adopted by users.
Summaries
27 word summary
Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms had limited effects, with only slight cognitive impairment. Participant expectations influenced perceived effects. Further research is needed with larger samples and different psychedelics.
80 word summary
A recent study examined the effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The active dose produced more intense effects, but only when participants correctly identified their condition. Overall, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment. Participants' expectations played a significant role in perceived effects. The study's limitations include sample size and focus on a specific psychedelic dose. Future research should address these limitations and explore microdosing with other psychedelics in larger populations.
150 word summary
A recent double-blind placebo-controlled study examined the effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a 0.5g dose of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms or a placebo. The active dose produced more intense effects, but only when participants correctly identified their experimental condition. Brain activity was altered, but overall, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment. The study did not find evidence to support the enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function often attributed to microdosing. Participants correctly identified their dose or placebo in 75% of the measurement weeks, suggesting that expectations play a significant role in perceived effects. The study's limitations include a small sample size and focus on a specific dose and type of psychedelic. Future research should address these limitations and explore the effects of microdosing with other psychedelics in larger and more diverse populations.
359 word summary
A recent double-blind placebo-controlled study on microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms examined the acute and short-term effects of a 0.5g dose of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms. The study recruited 34 individuals planning to start a microdosing protocol and randomly assigned them to receive either the active dose or a placebo. The results showed that the active dose had significantly more intense effects than the placebo, but only when participants correctly identified their experimental condition. These changes were accompanied by altered brain activity, but overall, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment. The study did not find evidence to support the enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function often attributed to microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
The study highlighted the importance of controlling for expectation when assessing the effects of microdosing. Participants correctly identified the active dose or placebo in 75% of the measurement weeks, indicating a potential unblinding bias. This suggests that expectations play a significant role in the perceived effects of microdosing. The findings challenge anecdotal reports and observational studies suggesting positive effects of microdosing. While previous studies have reported improvements in mood, well-being, creativity, and cognition, these findings may be influenced by placebo effects and experimental biases. The current study provides a more rigorous scientific approach but does not support the anecdotal claims of microdosing benefits.
The study's limitations include a relatively small sample size and focus on a specific dose and type of psychedelic. It also did not account for variations in the chemical composition of the mushrooms consumed by each participant. Future research should address these limitations and explore the effects of microdosing with other psychedelics in larger and more diverse populations.
In conclusion, this double-blind placebo-controlled study found no significant evidence to support the anecdotal claims of enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function associated with microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The study emphasizes the importance of rigorous scientific investigation and the need for further research to fully understand the potential benefits and limitations of microdosing. Future studies should explore different dosing schedules and potential long-term effects, as well as consider the potency and composition of the psychedelic samples used.
639 word summary
A recent double-blind placebo-controlled study examined the effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The study aimed to assess the acute and short-term effects of a 0.5g dose of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms on various aspects of subjective experience, behavior, creativity, perception, cognition, and brain activity. The study recruited 34 individuals who were planning to start a microdosing protocol with their own mushrooms, and they were randomly assigned to receive either the active dose or a placebo. The results showed that the acute effects of the active dose were significantly more intense than the placebo, but only for participants who correctly identified their experimental condition. These changes were accompanied by altered brain activity. However, for all other measurements, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment. The study did not find evidence to support the enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function often attributed to microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
The study highlighted the importance of controlling for expectation when assessing the effects of microdosing. Participants correctly identified the active dose or placebo in 75% of the measurement weeks, indicating a potential unblinding bias. This suggests that expectations play a significant role in the perceived effects of microdosing. The findings challenge the anecdotal reports and observational studies that suggest positive effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. While previous studies have reported improvements in mood, well-being, creativity, and cognition, these findings may be influenced by placebo effects and experimental biases. The current study provides a more rigorous scientific approach by using a double-blind placebo-controlled design, but the results do not support the anecdotal claims of microdosing benefits.
It is important to note the limitations of this study. The sample size was relatively small, and the study focused on a specific dose and type of psychedelic (Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms). Additionally, the study did not account for variations in the chemical composition of the mushrooms consumed by each participant, which could have affected the results. Future research should aim to address these limitations and explore the effects of microdosing with other psychedelics and in larger and more diverse populations.
In conclusion, this double-blind placebo-controlled study found no significant evidence to support the anecdotal claims of enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function associated with microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The study highlights the importance of rigorous scientific investigation when assessing the effects of microdosing and emphasizes the need for further research to fully understand the potential benefits and limitations of this practice.
A recent study on microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms found that while small amounts of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms did induce subjective effects, their impact on other domains, such as cognition and mental health, was negligible or even indicative of impaired performance. The study investigated the effects of two doses per week, which is a common microdosing schedule, but it did not assess the cumulative effects of microdoses consumed over extended periods of time. The researchers also chose to focus on the acute effects of microdosing rather than its potential cumulative effects due to the build-up of tolerance after repeated administration of serotonergic psychedelics.
Future research should explore whether the positive effects of microdosing can be selectively enabled or facilitated by certain long-term dosing schedules. Additionally, the potential impact of microdosing on aspects of human physiology that could compromise its long-term safety should be investigated.
The study also highlighted the importance of considering the potency and composition of the psilocybin-containing samples used in research. The researchers acknowledged that their samples may have lost potency between the experiment and their chemical analysis, which could have affected the results. They also noted that their samples contained small amounts of compounds whose psychoactivity in humans is still under discussion.
The study was conducted as a controlled study of microdosing in individuals who were already planning to start their own microdosing protocol.
1065 word summary
A double-blind placebo-controlled study was conducted to investigate the effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The study aimed to assess the acute and short-term effects of a 0.5g dose of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms on subjective experience, behavior, creativity, perception, cognition, and brain activity. The study recruited 34 individuals who were planning to start a microdosing protocol with their own mushroom material. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either the active dose or a placebo, and the order of the conditions was randomized. The experimental condition was unknown to both the participants and the researchers until the conclusion of data collection and analysis.
The results of the study showed that the acute effects of the active dose were significantly more intense than the placebo, but only for participants who correctly identified their experimental condition. These changes were accompanied by reduced EEG power in the theta band, indicating altered brain activity. However, for all other measurements, there was no significant effect of microdosing except for a few small changes towards cognitive impairment. The study did not find evidence to support the enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function that are often attributed to microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
The study also highlighted the importance of controlling for expectation when assessing the effects of microdosing. Expectations play a significant role in the perceived effects of microdosing, and previous studies have shown that unblinding of the experimental condition can lead to biased results. In this study, participants correctly identified the active dose or placebo in 75% of the measurement weeks, indicating a potential unblinding bias. Future studies should aim to address this issue and ensure that participants are unable to distinguish between the active dose and placebo.
The findings of this study challenge the anecdotal reports and observational studies that suggest positive effects of microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. While previous studies have reported improvements in mood, well-being, creativity, and cognition, these findings may be influenced by placebo effects and experimental biases. The current study provides a more rigorous scientific approach by using a double-blind placebo-controlled design, but the results do not support the anecdotal claims of microdosing benefits.
It is important to note the limitations of this study. The sample size was relatively small, and the study focused on a specific dose and type of psychedelic (Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms). Additionally, the study did not account for variations in the chemical composition of the mushrooms consumed by each participant, which could have affected the results. Future research should aim to address these limitations and explore the effects of microdosing with other psychedelics and in larger and more diverse populations.
In conclusion, this double-blind placebo-controlled study found no significant evidence to support the anecdotal claims of enhanced well-being, creativity, and cognitive function associated with microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms. The study highlights the importance of rigorous scientific investigation when assessing the effects of microdosing and emphasizes the need for further research to fully understand the potential benefits and limitations of this practice.
A recent study on microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms found that while small amounts of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms did induce subjective effects, their impact on other domains, such as cognition and mental health, was negligible or even indicative of impaired performance. The study investigated the effects of two doses per week, which is a common microdosing schedule, but it did not assess the cumulative effects of microdoses consumed over extended periods of time. The researchers also chose to focus on the acute effects of microdosing rather than its potential cumulative effects due to the build-up of tolerance after repeated administration of serotonergic psychedelics. The variability of microdosing schedules adopted by users in the current literature raised concerns about schedule-specific results as an obstacle to addressing the consistency of findings between studies.
The study was conducted in healthy participants, and the lack of significant findings could be attributed to ceiling effects. It is possible that microdoses of psilocybin mushrooms may exert positive effects on cognition and mental health, but only in populations of patients who already suffer from impairments in these domains. Therefore, more research is needed to determine whether microdosing with psychedelics can deliver at least some of its promised positive effects.
Future research should explore whether the positive effects of microdosing can be selectively enabled or facilitated by certain long-term dosing schedules. Additionally, the potential impact of microdosing on aspects of human physiology that could compromise its long-term safety, such as chronic 5-HT2B receptor stimulation, should be investigated.
The study also highlighted the importance of considering the potency and composition of the psilocybin-containing samples used in research. The researchers acknowledged that their samples may have lost potency between the experiment and their chemical analysis, which could have affected the results. They also noted that their samples contained small amounts of baeocystin and norbaeocystin, compounds whose psychoactivity in humans is still under discussion.
The study was conducted as a controlled study of microdosing in individuals who were already planning to start their own microdosing protocol. The researchers used small amounts of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms and assessed the subjective effects, cognitive performance, and brain activity of the participants. The study employed various methods, including computer-based cognitive tasks and electroencephalography (EEG), to measure these outcomes.
The findings of the study suggest that more research is needed to determine whether microdosing with psychedelics can deliver the promised positive effects. The study also highlighted the need to explore the potential impact of microdosing on human physiology and to consider the variability of dosing schedules adopted by users. The authors emphasized that until this research is conducted, it remains unclear whether long-term microdosing is a safe practice with desirable effects and whether the effects observed arise as a consequence of expectation or confirmation biases.
In conclusion, the study found that while microdosing with small amounts of dried Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms did induce subjective effects, its impact on other domains, such as cognition and mental health, was negligible or even indicative of impaired performance. The study called for further research to determine whether microdosing with psychedelics can deliver positive effects and to explore its potential impact on human physiology. The study also emphasized the need to consider the potency and composition of the samples used in research and to address the variability of dosing schedules adopted by users. Overall, more research is needed to fully understand the effects and potential benefits of microdosing with psychedelics.