Scientific Reports
January 21, 2021
Laura Kaertner, Michael B. Steinborn, Hannes Kettner et al.
152 citations
A prospective study of weekly psychedelic microdosing found that participants reported improved well-being, emotional stability, and reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms over four weeks. However, baseline positive expectancy scores predicted these improvements, suggesting a significant placebo response. The findings caution against overinterpreting the therapeutic value of microdosing.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
March 15, 2022
Maria Bălăeţ
28 citations
Psychedelic compounds show promise for treating depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD, with positive trial results. Beyond medical use, healthy individuals increasingly use psychedelics for spiritual enhancement, productivity, and recreation, and microdosing is rising. Knowledge of psychedelic effects, especially on cognition in naturalistic settings, remains limited. Existing studies have limitations: disparate paradigms, small sample sizes, insufficient breadth of testing on both unhealthy and healthy volunteers, and confinement to laboratory settings without assessing multiple dosages or time points. This review summarizes how psychedelics acutely affect memory, attention, reasoning, social cognition, and creativity, compares findings, and proposes solutions to current limitations.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
May 10, 2024
Maria Bălăeţ
5 citations
Public discussion about psychedelics, especially when it emphasizes potential harms without proper context, could trigger a nocebo effect—where negative expectations lead to adverse experiences. As interest in these substances grows, an unbalanced narrative may inadvertently influence people's naturalistic psychedelic experiences, potentially causing negative outcomes. The commentary argues for a balanced discourse that equally acknowledges both benefits and risks, and advocates for transparent information to support informed decision-making by users.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
June 18, 2025
Maria Bălăeţ, William Trender, Annalaura Lerede et al.
2 citations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, six common patterns of drug use emerged in a large citizen science cohort. Most drug-using groups had worse average mental health scores than drug-naive individuals at all timepoints, and those who increased their drug use saw their mental health worsen over time. However, people who used both psychedelics and cannabis showed average improvements in depression, anxiety, and overall mental health from before the pandemic to January 2022, becoming comparable to the drug-naive group. Cannabis-only users did not show this improvement; their worse mental health scores persisted. These findings suggest that beneficial effects of psychedelics on mood and anxiety may extend beyond controlled conditions.