Trial reportPsychopharmacology2018
Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 178 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Psychedelic Microdosing on Psychological Outcomes in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.CNS drugs · 2026Pooled it
- The subtle science: a systematic review of psilocybin magic mushroom and truffle microdosing.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Cognitive functioning associated with acute and subacute effects of classic psychedelics and MDMA - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Keeping the promise: a critique of the current state of microdosing research.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Multimodal creativity assessments following acute and sustained microdosing of lysergic acid diethylamide.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.Translational psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Spontaneous and deliberate creative cognition during and after psilocybin exposure.Translational psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Tripping on nothing: placebo psychedelics and contextual factors.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Acute Subjective and Behavioral Effects of Microdoses of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Human Volunteers.Biological psychiatry · 2019Trial
- Naturally Derived Psilocybin for Therapeutic Use: A Six-Criterion Framework for Evidence, Safety, and Benefit-Risk Considerations in Policy and Clinical Development.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Microdosing psilocybin for major depressive disorder: study protocol for a phase II double-blind placebo-controlled randomised partial crossover trial.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- Network pharmacology and molecular simulation reveal the entourage effect mechanisms of psilocybin-producing mushrooms on the brain.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Design, Synthesis, and Pharmacokinetic Profiling of Fluorinated ReversibleJournal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Acute Effects and Long-Term Neuropsychological Consequences of Classic Psychedelics Use.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Exploring novel therapeutic strategies: Could psychedelic perspectives offer promising solutions for Alzheimer's disease comorbidities?Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2025Review
- The transformational power of psychedelics: catalysts for creativity, consciousness, and mental health.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- Psychedelics and schizophrenia: a double-edged sword.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- Article
- Is microdosing a placebo? A rapid review of low-dose LSD and psilocybin research.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2024Review
- The 'PSILAUT' protocol: an experimental medicine study of autistic differences in the function of brain serotonin targets of psilocybin.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionTaking microdoses (a mere fraction of normal doses) of psychedelic substances, such as truffles, recently gained popularity, as it allegedly has multiple beneficial effects including creativity and problem-solving performance, potentially through targeting serotonergic 5-HT
methodsDuring a microdosing event organized by the Dutch Psychedelic Society, we examined the effects of psychedelic truffles (which were later analyzed to quantify active psychedelic alkaloids) on two creativity-related problem-solving tasks: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. A short version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices task assessed potential changes in fluid intelligence. We tested once before taking a microdose and once while the effects were expected to be manifested.
resultsWe found that both convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected.
conclusionWhile this study provides quantitative support for the cognitive-enhancing properties of microdosing psychedelics, future research has to confirm these preliminary findings in more rigorous placebo-controlled study designs. Based on these preliminary results, we speculate that psychedelics might affect cognitive metacontrol policies by optimizing the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility. We hope this study will motivate future microdosing studies with more controlled designs to test this hypothesis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.