ArticleThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2019
Motives and Side-Effects of Microdosing With Psychedelics Among Users.
Article in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
57 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 127 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 Ethnopharmacological Use of Mescaline for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 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
- Dose-response relationships of LSD-induced subjective experiences in humans.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Therapeutic Use of LSD in Psychiatry: A Systematic Review of Randomized-Controlled Clinical Trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Neural complexity is increased after low doses of LSD, but not moderate to high doses of oral THC or methamphetamine.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- LSD increases sleep duration the night after microdosing.Translational psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.Translational psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Microdoses in Healthy Participants.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2021Trial
- Acute dose-dependent effects of lysergic acid diethylamide in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in healthy subjects.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Prevalence and Reasons for Microdosing Cannabis, Psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA Among U.S. Adults.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- A contemporary exploration of motivations and practices of psychedelic use among emerging adult cannabis users in the United States: A qualitative analysis.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- Comparing Cannabis Use Motivations and Dependence Across Regular Cannabis Users Who Have or Have Not Recently Used Psilocybin.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2026Observational
- Microdosing psilocybin for major depressive disorder: study protocol for a phase II double-blind placebo-controlled randomised partial crossover trial.BJPsych open · 2026Article
- Design, Synthesis, and Pharmacokinetic Profiling of Fluorinated ReversibleJournal of medicinal chemistry · 2026Article
- Case Report: Repeated low doses of psilocybin reduce perceived symptom severity but fail to restore cognitive flexibility in a case of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder: an observational case study of identical twins.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Salvinorin A andInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Population-based estimates of different dosage types of psychedelic use across socio-demographic groups in Germany.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Mushrooms, Microdosing, and Mental Illness: The Effect of Psilocybin on Neurotransmitters, Neuroinflammation, and Neuroplasticity.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMicrodosing with psychedelics has gained considerable media attention where it is portrayed as a performance enhancer, especially popular on the work floor. While reports are in general positive, scientific evidence about potential negative effects is lacking aside from the prevalence and motives for use. The present study addressed this gap by surveying psychedelic users about their experience with microdosing including their dosing schedule, motivation, and potential experienced negative effects.
methodsAn online questionnaire was launched on several websites and fora between March and July 2018. Respondents who had consented, were 18 years of age or older, and had experience with microdosing were included in the analyses.
resultsIn total, 1116 of the respondents were either currently microdosing (79.5%) or microdosed in the past (20.5%). Lysergic acid diethylamide (10 mcg) and psilocybin (0.5 g) were the most commonly used psychedelics with a microdosing frequency between 2 and 4 times per week. The majority of users, however, were oblivious about the consumed dose. Performance enhancement was the main motive to microdose (37%). The most reported negative effects were of psychological nature and occurred acutely while under the influence.
conclusionIn line with media reports and anecdotes, the majority of our respondents microdosed to enhance performance. Negative effects occurred mostly acutely after substance consumption. However, the main reason to have stopped microdosing was that it was not effective. Future experimental placebo-controlled studies are needed to test whether performance enhancement can be quantified and to assess potential negative effects after longer term microdosing.
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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.