Psychedelics and Facial Expressions: the impact of an LSD microdose on the process of encoding emotional facial expressions
University of Chicago August 1, 2022 Alicia Rowland
Low doses of LSD (13 µg and 26 µg) reduce the amplitude of two event-related brain potentials—the P300 and N170 components—measured via scalp electrodes during a visual oddball task in healthy adults. These reductions resemble those seen with full doses of LSD. Event-related spectral perturbations showed decreased power in the alpha and some theta frequency bands, while intertrial coherence remained uniform. The findings suggest that microdoses of LSD can produce subtle changes in brain activity related to attention and stimulus processing without inducing full psychedelic effects, supporting their potential for therapeutic use.