Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers
Thomas Anderson, Rotem Petranker, Daniel Rosenbaum, Cory R. Weissman, Lê-Anh Dinh-Williams, Katrina Hui, Emma Hapke, Norman A. S. Farb
Psychopharmacology January 2, 2019 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-5106-2 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople who currently or formerly microdosed psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin reported lower dysfunctional attitudes and negative emotionality, and higher wisdom, open-mindedness, and creativity compared to non-microdosers. These differences were observed in an online observational study using self-report questionnaires and a creativity task. The findings suggest potential benefits of microdosing, but controlled experiments are needed to confirm safety and clinical efficacy.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Respondents recruited from online forums |
| Keywords | Creativity Mental health Personality Clinical psychology Psychiatry |
| Citations | 171 |
| Key finding | Current and former microdosers scored lower on dysfunctional attitudes and negative emotionality and higher on wisdom, open-mindedness, and creativity compared to non-microdosing controls. |
Abstract
RationaleMicrodosing psychedelics-the regular consumption of small amounts of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin-is a growing trend in popular culture. Recent studies on full-dose psychedelic psychotherapy reveal promising benefits for mental well-being, especially for depression and end-of-life anxiety. While full-dose therapies include perception-distorting properties, microdosing mayprovide complementary clinical benefits using lower-risk, non-hallucinogenic doses.ObjectivesThis pre-registered study aimed to investigate whether microdosing psychedelics is related to differences in personality, mental health, and creativity.MethodsIn this observational study, respondents recruited from online forums self-reported their microdosing behaviors and completed questionnaires concerning dysfunctional attitudes, wisdom, negative emotionality, open-mindedness, and mood. Respondents also performed the Unusual Uses Task to assess their creativity.ResultsCurrent and former microdosers scored lower on measures of dysfunctional attitudes (p < 0.001, r = - 0.92) and negative emotionality (p = 0.009, r = - 0.85) and higher on wisdom (p < 0.001, r = 0.88), openmindedness(p = 0.027, r = 0.67), and creativity (p < 0.001, r = 0.15) when compared to non-microdosing controls.ConclusionsThese findings provide promising initial evidence that warrants controlled experimental research to directly test safety and clinical efficacy. As microdoses are easier to administer than full-doses, this new paradigm has the exciting potential to shape future psychedelic research.