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A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics
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Abstract
The phenomenon of 'microdosing', that is, regular ingestion of very small quantities of psychedelic substances, has seen a rapid explosion of popularity in recent years. Individuals who microdose report minimal acute effects from these substances yet claim a range of long-term general health and wellbeing benefits. There have been no published empirical studies of microdosing and the current legal and bureaucratic climate makes direct empirical investigation of the effects of psychedelics difficult. In Study One we conducted a systematic, observational investigation of individuals who microdose. We tracked the experiences of 98 microdosing participants, who provided daily ratings of psychological functioning over a six week period. 63 of these additionally completed a battery of psychometric measures tapping mood, attention, wellbeing, mystical experiences, personality, creativity, and sense of agency, at baseline and at completion of the study. Analyses of daily ratings revealed a general increase in reported psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days but limited evidence of residual effects on following days. Analyses of pre and post study measures revealed reductions in reported levels of depression and stress; lower levels of distractibility; increased absorption; and increased neuroticism. To better understand these findings, in Study Two we investigated pre-existing beliefs and expectations about the effects of microdosing in a sample of 263 naïve and experienced microdosers, so as to gauge expectancy bias. All participants believed that microdosing would have large and wide-ranging benefits in contrast to the limited outcomes reported by actual microdosers. Notably, the effects believed most likely to change were unrelated to the observed pattern of reported outcomes. The current results suggest that dose controlled empirical research on the impacts of microdosing on mental health and attentional capabilities are needed.
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“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 [249]
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“the data on human psychedelic microdosing are equivocal”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [249]
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“but other studies did not find this effect in a general population sample (12) and a general sample without individuals diagnosed with a mood, anxiety, substance use, psychotic or dissociative disorder (13).”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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“Though one prospective (survey) study investigating adults (excluding individuals with mood, anxiety, substance use, psychotic or dissociative disorders) did not find a change in mindfulness scores after MD (13)”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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“though other studies investigating healthy individuals did not find this effect (13, 29).”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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“but was increased in a sample consisting of adults without mood, anxiety, substance use, and psychotic or dissociative disorders (13).”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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“The discrepancy between the findings by Polito and Stevenson (13) and the current study could potentially be explained by different sample characteristics as they excluded individuals with certain mental disorders, such as mood and anxiety disorders.”
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“The finding that mindfulness was enhanced in MD individuals is in line with previous studies reporting this association (6, 11), but in contrast to one previous prospective MD study that did not find any changes in mindfulness after 6 weeks of MD (13).”
From Trait mindfulness and personality characteristics in a microdosing ADHD sample: a naturalistic prospective survey study (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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Positive expectations predict improved mental-health outcomes linked to psychedelic microdosing
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Hutten, N. R. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C., & Kuypers, K. P. C. (2019) · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1093/ijnp/pyz029 · Cited by 126
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“Demographics and drug use characteristics. hallucinatory effect [14] and within the range that is used in naturalistic settings [41].”
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Discovering the Potential Mechanisms of Medicinal Mushrooms Antidepressant Activity: A Review
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The risk of chronic psychedelic and MDMA microdosing for valvular heart disease
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“Two groups reported EC 50 values for the intracellular calcium assay in the low nM range (Porter et al., 1999; Wacker et al., 2017).”
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“In addition, data from three open-label non-controlled prospective studies of psilocybin microdosing have also found acute transient improvements across broad domains of psychological functioning, although notably, a non-microdosing control arm was lacking in each of these studies (Kaertner et al., 2021; Polito and St…”
BackgroundInfluentialUse of plant-based hallucinogens and dissociative agents: U.S. Time Trends, 2002–2019
Walsh, C. A., Livne, O., Shmulewitz, D., Stohl, M., & Hasin, D. S. (2022) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100454 · Cited by 37
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Psilocybin’s effects on cognition and creativity: A scoping review
Bonnieux, J. N., VanderZwaag, B., Premji, Z., Garcia‐Romeu, A., & García-Barrera, M. A. (2023) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/02698811231179801 · Cited by 38
“Psilocybin can also be taken in very low, sub-hallucinogenic “microdoses,” typically ranging from ~100 mg to ~500 mg of dried mushrooms (of variable potency) taken orally, or about one-tenth to one-twentieth of a macrodose (Anderson et al., 2019; Kuypers et al., 2019; Polito and Stevenson, 2019).”
BackgroundMurray, C. H., Frohlich, J., Haggarty, C. J., Tare, I., Lee, R., & de Wit, H. (2024) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/s41386-024-01809-2 · Cited by 36
“In addition to reducing low frequency power, LSD increased high frequency gamma power.”
InfluentialLiechti, M. E., & Holze, F. (2021) · Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2021_270 · Cited by 37
Microdosing Psychedelics: Current Evidence From Controlled Studies
Murphy, R. J., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., & de Wit, H. (2024) · Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.01.002 · Cited by 38
Bradshaw, A. J., Backman, T., Ramírez-Cruz, V., Forrister, D. L., Winter, J. M., Guzmán‐Dávalos, L., Furci, G., Stamets, P. E., & Dentinger, B. T. M. (2022) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01498-22 · Cited by 31
Cuthbert, M., Haff, G. G., McMahon, J. J., Evans, M., & Comfort, P. (2023) · Strength and conditioning journal · doi:10.1519/ssc.0000000000000786 · Cited by 29
“Therefore, the aim of this review is to outline and discuss where some of these theories and concepts may or may not be appropriate for use within team sports, while also highlighting areas in which the application of microdosing requires further the underlying principles associated with…”
BackgroundPsychedelic therapy in depression and substance use disorders
Korkmaz, N. D., Çıkrıkçılı, U., Akan, M., & Yücesan, E. (2024) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.16421 · Cited by 29
“In studies conducted by certain groups, it is noted that after the microdosing experience, people reported minimal side effects and positive returns to their general health status (Polito & Stevenson, 2019).”
Psychedelics and mindfulness: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Radakovic, C., Radaković, R., Peryer, G., & Geere, J. (2022) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2022.00218 · Cited by 31
Bornemann, J. (2020) · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs · doi:10.1080/02791072.2020.1761573 · Cited by 24
Predictors and potentiators of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences
Gandy, S. (2022) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2022.00198 · Cited by 32
“…has been found to be higher in psychedelic microdosing groups compared to non-microdosing controls (Bright, Gringart, Blatchford, & Bettinson, 2021; Polito & Stevenson, 2019) and a single experience with a 25 mg/70 kg dose of psilocy-bin has been found to increase trait absorption for a minimum of…”
Psychedelic drugs for psychiatric disorders
da Costa, S. C., Oesterle, T., Rummans, T. A., Richelson, E., & Gold, M. S. (2022) · Journal of the Neurological Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.jns.2022.120332 · Cited by 32
Murphy, R. J., Sumner, R. L., Evans, W., Menkes, D. B., Lambrecht, I., Ponton, R., Sundram, F., Hoeh, N. R., Ram, S., Reynolds, L., et al. (2021) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-021-05243-3 · Cited by 25
“Expectancy of the positive effects of microdosing has been demonstrated among those who frequent drug use forums [20], likely inflating the benefits reported by those who learn about microdosing online, and these attitudes have been shown to correlate to positive self-reported outcomes [13], and to potentially explain…”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe neurochemistry of hypnotic suggestion
Acunzo, D. J., Oakley, D. A., & Terhune, D. B. (2021) · American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis · doi:10.1080/00029157.2020.1865869 · Cited by 25
Microdosing as a Response to the Meaning Crisis: A Qualitative Analysis
Petranker, R., Kim, J. J., & Anderson, T. (2022) · Journal of Humanistic Psychology · doi:10.1177/00221678221075076 · Cited by 32
Set and setting in microdosing: an oft-overlooked principle
Hartogsohn, I., & Petranker, R. (2022) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06249-8 · Cited by 26
“2021; Polito and Stevenson 2019).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPsychedelics: Science sabotaged by Social Media
Sellers, E. M., & Romach, M. K. (2023) · Neuropharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109426 · Cited by 22
“A variety of benefits have been reported including improved mood, improved focus, improved energy, improved creativity, and reduced anxiety (Kuypers, 2020; Polito and Stevenson, 2019; Fadiman and Korb, 2019; Anderson et al., 2019).”
Donegan, C. J., Daldegan‐Bueno, D., Sumner, R. L., Menkes, D. B., Evans, W., Hoeh, N. R., Sundram, F., Reynolds, L., Ponton, R., Cavadino, A., et al. (2023) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-023-01399-8 · Cited by 21
The psychedelic renaissance: the next trip for psychiatry?
Kelly, J. R., Baker, A., Babiker, M., Burke, L., Brennan, C., & O’Keane, V. (2019) · Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/ipm.2019.39 · Cited by 21
“This renaissance, and the enthusiasm among the general population (Polito and Stevenson, 2019), has left some professionals nonplussed.”
BackgroundThe altered state of consciousness induced by Δ9-THC
Murray, C. H., & Desikan, B. S. (2022) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2022.103357 · Cited by 22
“Conversely, DMN connectivity and mind-wandering were found to be reduced after psilocybin (Carhart-Harris et al., 2012; Polito & Stevenson, 2019), LSD (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016), and ayahuasca (Palhano-Fontes et al., 2015), substances known to activate 5-HT2A receptors.”
Instability and Uncertainty Are Critical for Psychotherapy: How the Therapeutic Alliance Opens Us Up
Connolly, P. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.784295 · Cited by 21
Acute Effects of 2C-E in Humans: An Observational Study
Papaseit, E., Olesti, E., Pérez‐Mañá, C., Torrens, M., Grifell, M., Ventura, M., Pozo, Ó. J., Perna, E. B. D. S. F., Ramaekers, J. G., de la Torre, R., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.00233 · Cited by 21
Natural language signatures of psilocybin microdosing
Sanz, C., Cavanna, F., Muller, S. L., de la Fuente, L., Zamberlán, F., Palmucci, M., Janeckova, L., Kuchař, M., Carrillo, F., García, A. M., et al. (2022) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06170-0 · Cited by 19
“…of sentiment analysis, microdosing users generally report an improvement in their mood (Anderson, Petranker, Christopher, et al., 2019; Hutten et al., 2019a; Johnstad, 2018; Lea, Amada, Jungaberle, Schecke, & Klein, 2020; Polito & Stevenson, 2019; Prochazkova et al., 2018; Rootman et al., 2021).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMacrodosing to microdosing with psychedelics: Clinical, social, and cultural perspectives
Kaypak, A. C., & Raz, A. (2022) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/13634615221119386 · Cited by 22
“However, a few studies investigated downsides and challenges regarding microdosing (Anderson, Petranker, Christopher, et al., 2019; Hutten et al., 2019; Polito & Stevenson, 2019).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMurphy, R. J., Godfrey, K. E. M., Shaw, A. D., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., & Sumner, R. L. (2024) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/s12868-024-00844-5 · Cited by 19
“Expectancy and unblinding have been identified in prospective studies as high within the populations who microdose, and able to affect participants’ subjective experiences [56–58].”
BackgroundIs microdosing a placebo? A rapid review of low-dose LSD and psilocybin research
Polito, V., & Liknaitzky, P. (2024) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/02698811241254831 · Cited by 26
“…consistent reports of benefits from self-report studies (e.g., Anderson et al., 2019; Cameron et al., 2020; Hutten et al., 2019; Lea et al., 2020; Polito and Stevenson, 2019; Rootman et al., 2021, 2022) and lack of clear evidence on the role placebo in controlled studies to date, further…”
BackgroundEfficacy and safety of psilocybin for the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic review
Meshkat, S., Malik, G., Zeifman, R. J., Swainson, J., Balachandra, K., Reichelt, A. C., Zhang, Y., Burback, L., Winkler, O., Greenshaw, A. J., et al. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106163 · Cited by 21
Sociological investigations of human enhancement drugs: The case of microdosing psychedelics
Liokaftos, D. (2021) · International Journal of Drug Policy · doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103099 · Cited by 17
Neural and subjective effects of inhaled DMT in natural settingsPreprint
Pallavicini, C., Cavanna, F., Zamberlán, F., de la Fuente, L. A., Perl, Y. S., Arias, M., Romero, C., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Timmermann, C., & Tagliazucchi, E. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.08.19.258145 · Cited by 17
“…to investigate potential anxiolytic effects of DMT. Increased absorption after psychedelic experiences in naturalistic settings has been previously demonstrated for ayahuasca (Bresnick and Levin, 2006) and for subthreshold doses of psychedelics (i.e. microdoses) (Polito and Stevenson, 2019).”
BackgroundIbogaine therapy for addiction: Consumer views from online fora
Barber, M., Gardner, J., Savic, M., & Carter, A. (2020) · International Journal of Drug Policy · doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102857 · Cited by 16
Basedow, L. A., Riemer, T., Reiche, S., Kreutz, R. H., & Majić, T. (2021) · Frontiers in Pharmacology · doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.739966 · Cited by 17
“Additionally, SPs have been associated with persisting changes in traits such as openness to experience, neuroticism, mindfulness, and optimism (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016; Erritzoe et al., 2018; Griffiths et al., 2018; Polito and Stevenson, 2019; Madsen et al., 2020).”
BackgroundBright, S., Gringart, E., Blatchford, E., & Bettinson, S. (2021) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00049530.2021.1882266 · Cited by 16
“This might be why our findings were not consistent with the findings of previous researchers who found that yoga reduced anxiety and depression (Khalsa et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2011), and that self-reported microdosing decreased depressive symptoms (Polito & Stevenson, 2019).”
InfluentialKeeping the promise: a critique of the current state of microdosing research
Petranker, R., Anderson, T., Fewster, E. C., Aberman, Y., Hazan, M., Gaffrey, M. S., & Seli, P. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1217102 · Cited by 19
“However, puzzlingly, microdosing appears to show contradictory effects, for instance, in that it has been found to both increase and decrease mood, anxiety, headaches, and attention [for examples, compare (8, 9)].”
BackgroundKinderlehrer, D. A. (2025) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s500337 · Cited by 15
“122 The investigators were assessing psychological functioning and excluded participants with self-reported mental illness.”
A dangerous method? Psychedelic therapy at Modum Bad, Norway, 1961–76
Johnstad, P. G. (2020) · History of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0957154x19894537 · Cited by 15
“The lower end of this range corresponds to what is today known as a microdose (Anderson et al., 2019; Johnstad, 2018; Polito and Stevenson, 2019) and is probably what Johnsen referred to as ‘extremely small initial doses’, while the top doses were apparently reserved for attempts to induce ‘cosmic…”
Backgroundvan den Berg, M., Magaraggia, I., Schreiber, R., Hillhouse, T. M., & Porter, J. H. (2022) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06106-8 · Cited by 13
“Yet, there seems to be no difference between experienced and naive users in the positive expectations about the effects of intermittent low dosing of psychedelics (Polito and Stevenson 2019).”
BackgroundBrain Networks, Neurotransmitters and Psychedelics: Towards a Neurochemistry of Self-Awareness
Mograbi, D. C., Rodrigues, R. F. S., Bienemann, B., & Huntley, J. D. (2024) · Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports · doi:10.1007/s11910-024-01353-y · Cited by 17
“A study by Polito & Stevenson [135] explored responses to the Sense of Agency Rating Scale (SOARS [136]) in a sample of psychedelic microdose users.”
BackgroundDaldegan‐Bueno, D., Donegan, C. J., Forsyth, A., Sumner, R. L., Murphy, R. J., Menkes, D. B., Evans, W., Hoeh, N. R., Sundram, F., Reynolds, L., et al. (2024) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-024-08384-3 · Cited by 14
“Although the reasons for micro-dosing psychedelics vary, microdosing as an attempt to self-treat or alleviate depressive symptoms appears to be one of the most frequent motivators [10, 11].”
BackgroundGlobal Drug SurveyPreprint
Petranker, R., Anderson, T., Maier, L. J., Barratt, M. J., Ferris, J., & WINSTOCK, A. R. (2020) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/xb8ve · Cited by 14
Dressler, H. M., Bright, S. J., & Polito, V. (2021) · Journal of Psychedelic Studies · doi:10.1556/2054.2021.00157 · Cited by 14
“Contrary to previous findings by Polito and Stevenson (2019), we observed a significant decrease in neuroticism.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialAccounting for Microdosing Classic Psychedelics
Beaton, B., Copes, H., Webb, M. E., Hochstetler, A., & Hendricks, P. S. (2019) · Journal of Drug Issues · doi:10.1177/0022042619871008 · Cited by 13
Metadata
- Authors
- Polito, V., & Stevenson, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Macquarie University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Polito, Vince
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2019-02-06
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- e0211023
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6364961
- OpenAlex
- W2895986834
- Cited by
- 235
- References
- 87
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 18
- FWCI
- 34.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- microdosing, psychedelics, psychological functioning, mood, depression, stress, attention, distractibility, absorption, neuroticism, creativity, mystical experience, sense of agency, expectancy bias, mental health, well-being
- MeSH terms
- Patient Reported Outcome Measures, Adult, Attention, Culture, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Personality, Psychometrics, Empirical Research, Young Adult
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