Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: receptors and promoting cognitive flexibility, crucial to creative thinking. Nevertheless, enhancing effects of microdosing remain anecdotal, and in the absence of quantitative research on microdosing psychedelics, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions on that matter. Here, our main aim was to quantitatively explore the cognitive-enhancing potential of microdosing psychedelics in healthy adults. METHODS: During a microdosing event organized by the Dutch Psychedelic Society, we examined the effects of psychedelic truffles (which were later analyzed to quantify active psychedelic alkaloids) on two creativity-related problem-solving tasks: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. A short version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices task assessed potential changes in fluid intelligence. We tested once before taking a microdose and once while the effects were expected to be manifested. RESULTS: We found that both convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected. CONCLUSION: While this study provides quantitative support for the cognitive-enhancing properties of microdosing psychedelics, future research has to confirm these preliminary findings in more rigorous placebo-controlled study designs. Based on these preliminary results, we speculate that psychedelics might affect cognitive metacontrol policies by optimizing the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility. We hope this study will motivate future microdosing studies with more controlled designs to test this hypothesis.
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Therapeutic benefit of low doses of psychedelics remains to be demonstrated in a well-controlled clinical study.
“therapeutic benefit of low doses of psychedelics remains to be demonstrated in a well-controlled clinical study”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [248]
Data on human psychedelic microdosing are equivocal.
“the data on human psychedelic microdosing are equivocal”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [248]
Recent quantitative findings suggest that moderate-to-high doses of psychedelics-if administered in safe and supportive contexts-may impact outcomes related to leadership, including psychological health, creative thinking, and interpersonal attitudes and behaviors.
“recent quantitative findings suggest that moderate-to-high doses of psychedelics—if administered in safe and supportive contexts—may also impact outcomes related to leadership (see also Schlag et al., 2022 for potential risks), including psychological health (Galvão-Coelho et al., 2021), creative thinking (Prochazkova et al., 2018; Wießner et al., 2022), and interpersonal attitudes and behaviors (”
From Altered states of leadership: mindfulness meditation, psychedelic use, and leadership development (2023) · cites this paper as Prochazkova et al., 2018
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Simonsson, O., Stenfors, C. U. D., Goldberg, S. B., Hendricks, P. S., & Osika, W. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1151626 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“, 2021), creative thinking (Prochazkova et al., 2018; Wießner et al., 2022), and interpersonal attitudes and behaviors (Griffiths et al.”
Background
- Authors
- Prochazkova, L., Lippelt, D. P., Colzato, L. S., Kuchar, M., Sjoerds, Z., & Hommel, B.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- University of Kassel (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Prochazkova, Luisa
- Venue
- Psychopharmacology
- Published
- 2018-10-25
- Volume
- 235
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 3401-3413
- ISSN
- 0033-3158 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-2072
- PMC
- PMC6267140
- OpenAlex
- W2951080359
- Cited by
- 177
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 21.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- European Research Council (694722)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Keywords
- microdosing, psychedelics, creativity, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, fluid intelligence, cognitive flexibility, cognitive persistence, alternative uses task, Raven's Progressive Matrices
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Creativity, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Intelligence, Intelligence Tests, Male, Motivation, Photic Stimulation, Problem Solving, Thinking, Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic, Nootropic Agents, Young Adult
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