Three Cases of Reported Improvement in Microsmia and Anosmia Following Naturalistic Use of Psilocybin and LSD
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs August 31, 2023 Alexsandra Kovacevich, Jeremy Weleff, Benjamin Claytor et al. 6 citations
Three individuals with smell loss—one from a respiratory infection, one from childhood, and one from COVID-19—reported improved olfactory function after using psychedelics: 6 g of psilocybin mushrooms, 100 µg of LSD, or microdosing 0.1 g of psilocybin mushrooms three times. These are the first such cases recorded in academic literature. Possible mechanisms include serotonergic effects, increased neuroplasticity, and anti-inflammatory actions. The authors suggest that the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for olfactory impairment warrant further investigation.