Scientists from the University of British Columbia found that tiny amounts of psychedelics (‘magic’ mushrooms) can impact mental health.
The research is published in Scientific Reports and was conducted by Dr. Zach Walsh et al.
In the study, the team followed 953 people taking regular small amounts of psilocybin and the second group of 180 people who were not microdosing.
For the 30-day treatment, participants were asked to complete a number of assessments that tapped into mental health symptomology, mood and measures of cognition.
For example, a smartphone finger tap test was integrated into the study to measure psychomotor ability, which can be used as a marker for neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease.
The team found those microdosing demonstrated greater improvements in mood, mental health and psychomotor ability over the one-month period, compared to non-microdosing peers who completed the same assessments.
The findings of improved mood and reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress add to the growing conversation about the therapeutic potential of microdosing.
Large doses of psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms have a long history of use among some Indigenous peoples and are prized in Western culture for their psychedelic effects.
They were also labeled an illicit substance during the American-led “war on drugs.”
But recent interest has expanded from large dose psychedelic use—known for creating dramatic alterations in mood and consciousness—to the potential therapeutic application of smaller microdoses; amounts so small they minimally interfere with daily functioning.
Microdosing involves regular self-administration in doses small enough to not impair normal cognitive functioning.
The doses can be as small as 0.1 to 0.3 grams of dried mushrooms, and may be taken three to five times a week.
The most widely reported substances used for microdosing are psilocybin mushrooms and LSD.
Psilocybin mushrooms are considered non-addictive and relatively non-toxic—especially when compared to tobacco, opioids and alcohol.
The current findings of mood and mental health improvements associated with psilocybin microdosing align with previous studies of psychedelic microdosing, and add to them through the use of a longitudinal study design and large sample that allowed us to examine consistency of effects across age, gender and their mental health.
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