Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
January 1, 2020
Kim P.C. Kuypers
83 citations
Microdosing psychedelics, the repeated use of small doses of LSD or psilocybin, has been claimed to help with depression, but scientific evidence is limited. This review of 14 experimental studies found that low doses (LSD 10–20 mcg, psilocybin <1–3 mg) produce subtle positive effects on cognitive processes like time perception and thinking, and affect brain regions involved in emotion. However, increased anxiety and cycling between depressive and euphoric moods also occurred. Low doses were well tolerated in healthy volunteers with minimal physiological effects. While therapeutic value for depression remains unclear, the effects on cognitive flexibility might reduce rumination. Placebo-controlled trials in depressed patients are needed.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
March 31, 2020
Kristin Heuschkel, Kim P.C. Kuypers
82 citations
Mindfulness meditation (MM) and psilocybin both show promise for treating depression, and their combined use may produce complementary therapeutic effects. This review of 93 articles found that MM and psilocybin similarly improve mood, social skills, and neuroplasticity, but differ in their effects on executive functioning, neural core networks, and neuroendocrine and neuroimmune markers. MM likely works through enhanced affective self-regulation and stress reactivity adjustments, while psilocybin may act via cognitive disinhibition and global neural network disintegration. The authors suggest that combining them could potentiate or prolong positive effects, such as MM facilitating psilocybin-induced peak experiences, and call for future placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trials of psilocybin-assisted mindfulness-based therapy.
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
June 6, 2022
Corinna L. Felsch, Kim P.C. Kuypers
23 citations
Current first-line treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD) have limited efficacy, prompting a need for novel approaches. This systematic review proposes combining meditation-based interventions with a psychedelic, such as psilocybin, as a future alternative. Thirty experimental studies on neural effects of meditation or psilocybin in healthy and patient samples suggest that psilocybin-assisted meditation could alter cognitive processes like biased attention to threat by modulating salience network connectivity, balancing cortical-midline structure activity, and increasing frontoparietal control over amygdala reactivity. The authors conclude that future studies should investigate whether this combination provides therapeutic benefits for SAD patients who do not remit with conventional therapy.
Neurosci Appl
October 26, 2022
Eline C.H.M. Haijen, Petra P.M. Hurks, Kim P.C. Kuypers
17 citations
Adults with ADHD who microdosed classic psychedelics on their own initiative reported reduced ADHD symptoms and improved well-being after two and four weeks, compared with their baseline. Performance on a time perception task did not improve. Taking conventional ADHD medication alongside microdosing or having other mental health conditions did not alter the effects on symptoms or well-being after four weeks. The authors call for placebo-controlled experiments to determine whether microdosing offers a genuine benefit beyond the placebo effect.