Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study
In a double‑blind placebo‑controlled study of 34 people starting to microdose with 0.5 g dried Psilocybe cubensis, active doses produced noticeable subjective effects and reduced EEG theta power but did not improve creativity, cognition or well‑being, and showed small signs of cognitive impairment. Many reported effects were linked to participants correctly identifying their condition, indicating expectation/placebo contributes to anecdotal benefits.
Authors
- Enzo Tagliazucchi
- Claudio Pallavicini
- Michal Kuchar
Published
Abstract
The use of low sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics (“microdosing”) has gained popularity in recent years. Although anecdotal reports claim multiple benefits associated with this practice, the lack of placebo-controlled studies severely limits our knowledge of microdosing and its effects. Moreover, research conducted in standard laboratory settings could fail to capture the motivation of individuals engaged or planning to engage in microdosing protocols, thus underestimating the likelihood of positive effects on creativity and cognitive function. We recruited 34 individuals starting to microdose with psilocybin mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis), one of the materials most frequently used for this purpose. Following a double-blind placebo-controlled experimental design, we investigated the acute and short-term effects of 0.5 g of dried mushrooms on subjective experience, behavior, creativity (divergent and convergent thinking), perception, cognition, and brain activity. The reported acute effects were significantly more intense for the active dose compared to the placebo, but only for participants who correctly identified their experimental condition. These changes were accompanied by reduced EEG power in the theta band, together with preserved levels of Lempel-Ziv broadband signal complexity. For all other measurements there was no effect of microdosing except for few small changes towards cognitive impairment. According to our findings, low doses of psilocybin mushrooms can result in noticeable subjective effects and altered EEG rhythms, but without evidence to support enhanced well-being, creativity and cognitive function. We conclude that expectation underlies at least some of the anecdotal benefits attributed to microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms.
Research Summary of 'Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study'
Introduction
Interest in the practice of taking very low, sub-perceptual doses of psychedelics (“microdosing”) has expanded rapidly among the public and researchers. Anecdotal reports and observational studies claim improvements in mood, cognition, creativity and wellbeing, but these data are vulnerable to selection bias, expectancy effects and the lack of placebo controls. Neurobiological mechanisms remain underexplored for microdoses, although studies with full psychedelic doses show alterations in brain oscillations, connectivity and subjective experience that could in principle scale with dose. Cavanna and colleagues set out to evaluate the acute and short-term effects of a representative psilocybin mushroom microdose on subjective experience, behaviour, creativity (convergent and divergent thinking), perception, cognition and brain activity measured with EEG. To limit artificial motivation and to better reflect real-world practice, the investigators recruited people who were planning to start microdosing with their own Psilocybe cubensis material and implemented a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subjects protocol using 0.5 g dried mushroom per dosing day versus an inert mushroom placebo.
Expert Research Summaries
Go Pro to access AI-powered section-by-section summaries, editorial takes, and the full research toolkit.
Full Text PDF
Full Paper PDF
Create a free account to open full-text PDFs.
Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Cavanna, F., Muller, S., de la Fuente, L. A., Zamberlan, F., Palmucci, M., Janeckova, L., Kuchar, M., Pallavicini, C., & Tagliazucchi, E. (2022). Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02039-0
References (42)
Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
Ona, G., Bouso, J. C. · Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (2020)
Hutten, N. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C. et al. · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2019)
Polito, V., Stevenson, R. J. · PLOS ONE (2019)
Lea, T., Amada, N., Jungaberle, H. et al. · International Journal of Drug Policy (2020)
Bouso, J. C., Dos Santos, R. G., Hallak, J. E. · Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (2018)
Dupuis, D. · Frontiers in Psychology (2021)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Kaelen, M., Whalley, M. G. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2014)
Haijen, E. C. H. M., Kaelen, M., Roseman, L. et al. · Frontiers in Pharmacology (2018)
Prochazkova, L., Lippelt, D. P., Colzato, L. S. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2018)
Johnstad, P. G. · Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (2018)
Show all 42 referencesShow fewer
Anderson, T., Petranker, R., Rosenbaum, D. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2019)
Hutten, N. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C. et al. · Frontiers in Psychiatry (2019)
Lea, T., Jungaberle, H., Schecke, H. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2020)
Kuypers, K. P. C. · Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology (2020)
Olson, D. E. · ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science (2020)
Kuypers, K. P. C., Erritzoe, D., Knudsen, G. M. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2019)
Szigeti, B., Kartner, L., Blemings, A. et al. · eLife (2021)
Fadiman, J., Korb, S. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2019)
Webb, M., Copes, H., Hendricks, P. S. · International Journal of Drug Policy (2019)
Olson, J. A., Suissa-Rocheleau, L., Lifshitz, M. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2020)
Kaertner, L. S., Steinborn, M. B., Kettner, H. et al. · Scientific Reports (2021)
Rootman, J. M., Kryskow, P., Harvey, K. et al. · Scientific Reports (2021)
Bershad, A. K., Schepers, S. T., Bremmer, M. P. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2019)
Yanakieva, S., Polychroni, N., Family, N. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2018)
Hutten, N. R. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C. et al. · European Neuropsychopharmacology (2020)
Family, N., Maillet, E. L., Williams, L. T. J. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2019)
Bershad, A. K., Preller, K. H., Lee, R. et al. · Biological Psychiatry (2020)
Van Elk, M., Fejer, G., Lempe, P. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Riba, J., Anderer, P., Morte, A. et al. · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2002)
Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Moran, R. J. et al. · Journal of Neuroscience (2013)
Schenberg, E. E., Alexandre, J. F. M., Filev, R. et al. · PLOS ONE (2015)
Schartner, M., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Barrett, A. B. et al. · Scientific Reports (2017)
Carhart-Harris, R. L., Muthukumaraswamy, S., Roseman, L. et al. · PNAS (2016)
Timmermann, C., Roseman, L., Schartner, M. et al. · Scientific Reports (2019)
Tagliazucchi, E., Zamberlan, F., Cavanna, F. et al. · Frontiers in Psychiatry (2021)
Pallavicini, C., Cavanna, F., Zamberlan, F. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2021)
Kometer, M., Pokorny, T., Seifritz, E. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2015)
Perry, C. M., Malina, M. · Psychopharmacology (2021)
Hutten, N. R. P. W., Mason, N. L., Dolder, P. C. et al. · ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science (2020)
Bayne, T., Carter, O. · Neuroscience of Consciousness (2018)
Carter, O. L., Hasler, F. ;., Pettigrew, J. D. et al. · Psychopharmacology (2007)
Garcia-Romeu, A., Barrett, F. S., Carbonaro, T. M. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2021)
Cited By (27)
Papers in Blossom that reference this study
Prochazkova, L., Marschall, J., Lippelt, D. P. et al. · Neuropharmacology (2026)
Beatriz, M., Millón, B., Noguera, L. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2025)
Muller, S., Cavanna, F., de la Fuente, L. A. et al. · Scientific Reports (2025)
Tylš, F., Páleníček, T., Klučková, T. et al. · Pharmacological Reports (2025)
Syed, O. A., Petranker, R., Fewster, E. C. et al. · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs (2024)
Enriquez-Geppert, S,, Lietz, M. P., O'Higgins, F. · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2024)
Erritzoe, D., Barba, T., Greenway, K. T. et al. · EClinicalMedicine (2024)
Murphy, R. J. · Psychopharmacology (2024)
Hutten, N. R. P. W., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., Mason, N. L. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2024)
Polito, V., Liknaitzky, P. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024)
Show all 27 papersShow fewer
Szigeti, B., Heifets, B. D. · Biological Psychiatry (2024)
Allen, N., Jeremiah, A., Murphy, R. et al. · Translational Psychiatry (2024)
Erritzoe, D., Timmermann, C., Godfrey, K. et al. · Nature Mental Health (2024)
Murphy, R. J., Godfrey, K., Shaw, A. D. et al. · BMC Psychiatry (2024)
Murray, C., Frohlich, J, Haggarty, C. J., Tare, I. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2024)
Szigeti, B., Weiss, B., Rosas, F. E. et al. · Psychological Medicine (2024)
Rouaud, A., Calder, A. E., Hasler, G. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2024)
Molla, H. M., Lee, R., Tare, I. et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology (2023)
Enriquez-Geppert, S,, Krc, J., O'Higgins, F., Lietz, M. P. · OSF Preprints (2023)
Kiilerich, K. F., Lorenz, J., Scharff, M. B. et al. · Molecular Psychiatry (2023)
Jaster, A. M., González-Maeso, J. · Molecular Psychiatry (2023)
Tagen, M., Mantuani, D., Van Heerden, L. et al. · Journal of Psychopharmacology (2023)
Dinkelacker, J., Pop, I. · Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (2023)
Szigeti, B., Nutt, D. J., Carhart-Harris, R. L. et al. · Scientific Reports (2023)
Whelan, T. P., Daly, E., Puts, N. A. et al. · MedRvix (2023)
Kinderlehrer, D. A. · International Medical Case Reports Journal (2023)
Lerer, L. B., Varia, J. · Frontiers in Space Travel (2022)
Your Personal Research Library
Go Pro to save papers, add notes, rate studies, and organize your research into custom shelves.