Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychopharmacology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Microdosing psychedelics, particularly psilocybin mushrooms, is increasingly popular.
• Anecdotal reports suggest benefits, but rigorous placebo-controlled studies are lacking.
• Standard lab settings may not capture motivations for microdosing, potentially skewing results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acute and short-term effects of psilocybin mushroom microdosing.
• To assess impacts on subjective experience, behavior, creativity, perception, cognition, and brain activity.
• To differentiate effects from placebo and the role of participant expectation.

Main Methods:

• Double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 34 individuals starting microdosing psilocybin.
• Administered 0.5g of dried psilocybin mushrooms or placebo.
• Measured subjective effects, behavior, divergent/convergent thinking, perception, cognition, and EEG.

Main Results:

• Active psilocybin dose led to more intense subjective effects only in participants who correctly identified their condition.
• Reduced theta band EEG power and preserved signal complexity observed with active dose.
• No significant evidence of enhanced well-being, creativity, or cognitive function; some cognitive impairment noted.

Conclusions:

• Psilocybin microdosing can cause subjective and EEG changes, but does not demonstrably enhance cognitive function or creativity.
• Participant expectation appears to play a significant role in the perceived benefits of microdosing.
• Further research is needed to understand the neurobiological underpinnings and psychological factors involved.