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Cited by 72Psychedelics and Drug StudiesPain Management and Placebo EffectPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Psilocybin microdosing does not affect emotion-related symptoms and processing: A preregistered field and lab-based study

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Marschall, Josephine, Fejer, George, Lempe, Pascal, Prochazkova, Luisa, Kuchar, Martin, Hajkova, Katerina, van Elk, Michiel·2022·Journal of Psychopharmacology
DOI 10.1177/02698811211050556PMC PMC8801668
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Abstract

Background: Microdoses of psychedelics (i.e. a sub-hallucinogenic dose taken every third day) can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress according to anecdotal reports and observational studies. Research with medium to high doses of psilocybin points towards potential underlying mechanisms, including the modulation of emotion and interoceptive processing. Aims: In this preregistered study, we investigated whether psilocybin microdoses alter self-reported interoceptive awareness and whether repeated microdosing over 3 weeks modulates emotion processing and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. Methods: We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject crossover design. Participants completed the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness Questionnaire 1½ h after self-administering their second dose (or placebo), and the emotional go/no-go task and the shortened Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 1½ h after self-administering their seventh dose. Results: Our confirmatory analyses revealed that psilocybin microdosing did not affect emotion processing or symptoms of anxiety and depression compared with placebo. Our exploratory analyses revealed that psilocybin microdosing did not affect self-reported interoceptive awareness, that symptoms of depression and stress were significantly reduced in the first block compared with baseline, that participants broke blind in the second block and that there was no effect of expectations. Further research in a substance-naïve population with clinical range anxiety and depressive symptoms is needed to substantiate the potential beneficial effects of microdosing.

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  • Microdosing, by popular definition, refers to the ingestion of a psychedelic substance that is sub-perceptual and therefore should not be detectable by any instrument designed to detect aspects of the psychedelic experience.

    “We did so since microdosing, by popular definition, refers to the ingestion of a psychedelic substance that is sub-perceptual (Marschall et al., 2022) and, therefore, should not be detectable by any instrument designed to detect aspects of the psychedelic experience.”

    From Assessment of the acute subjective psychedelic experience: A review of patient-reported outcome measures in clinical research on classical psychedelics (2024) · cites this paper as Marschall et al., 2022

    The Introduction defines microdosing as taking a sub-hallucinogenic dose, usually 5–10% of a standard dose. That supports the low-dose aspect of the cited definition, but sub-hallucinogenic does not necessarily mean sub-perceptual; the Conclusion reports that participants could break blind despite the small doses. The sentence’s further claim about detection by instruments follows the citation and is the citing authors’ inference, not a claim attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Bener A Alsulaiman R Doodson LG, et al. (2016) Comparison of reliability and validity of the breast cancer Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) with the beck depression inventory-(BDI-II) and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). International Journal of Behavioral Research & Psychology 4(4): 196– 202.
  2. Johnstad PG (2018) Powerful substances in tiny amounts. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 35(1): 39– 51. PMC7434115 32934512

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Authors
Marschall, J., Fejer, G., Lempe, P., Prochazkova, L., Kuchar, M., Hajkova, K., & van Elk, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Amsterdam (NL)
  • Leiden University (NL)
  • Forensic Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
  • Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Psychopharmacology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-12-17
Volume
36
Issue
1
Pages
97-113
ISSN
  • 0269-8811 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7285
DOI
10.1177/02698811211050556
PMC
PMC8801668
OpenAlex
W4200583144
Cited by
72
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 8
FWCI
7.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • KOPS (University of Konstanz) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
psychedelics, interoceptive awareness, emotional processing, anxiety, depression, stress, placebo effect, emotional go/no-go task
MeSH terms
Adult, Anxiety, Depression, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Emotions, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psilocybin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Cross-Over Studies, Young Adult

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