LSD for Set & Setting

Participant Experiences of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in a 6-Week Randomised Controlled Trial

In the first qualitative study embedded in a randomised, placebo‑controlled trial, interviews with 40 healthy males who microdosed 10 µg LSD every third day for six weeks identified effects across mood, social life, mindfulness, cognition/creativity and physiology, with overarching themes of increased openness and bidirectional (positive and negative) effects. These findings highlight clinically relevant signals (notably changes in anxiety) that bear on patient and dose selection for mood‑disorder trials and emphasise set, setting and placebo‑related uncertainty as key considerations for psychedelic trial design.

Published: November 10, 2025
Journal: Journal of Humanistic Psychology
Authors: Murphy, R. J., Wardlaw, M., Smith, T., Noorani, T., Evans, W., Reynolds, L., Menkes, D. B., Sumner, R. L., Muthukumaraswamy, S. D.

Open Accessindividual

Effects of external stimulation on psychedelic state neurodynamics

This further analysis of data from a single-blind, placebo-controlled study (n=20) on the effects of LSD (75µg) finds that the context (eyes closed/open, silence/music/video) modulates the level of brain entropy. The study finds that eyes-closed elicited the biggest response, and that video (external stimuli) disrupts the correlation between brain entropy and subjective ratings of the experience.

Published: January 12, 2024
Journal: ACS Chemical Neuroscience
Authors: Mediano, P. A. M., Rosas, F. E., Timmermann, C., Roseman, L., Nutt, D. J., Feilding, A., Kaelen, M., Kringelbach, M. L., Barrett, A. B., Seth, A. K., Muthukumaraswamy, S., Bor, D., Carhart-Harris, R. L.

Open Accessindividual

Nature-themed video intervention may improve cardiovascular safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder

In a pilot randomised controlled trial of 20 participants with alcohol use disorder, viewing a nature-themed "Visual Healing" video during preparation and the ascent/descent phases of 25 mg psilocybin sessions was feasible, safe and well tolerated. Compared with standard procedures (eyeshades and music), Visual Healing significantly attenuated peak post‑psilocybin blood pressure increases while producing similar psychedelic effects and reductions in alcohol use.

Published: September 18, 2023
Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry
Authors: Heinzerling, K. G., Sergi, K., Linton, M., Rich, R., Youssef, B., Bentancourt, I., Bramen, J., Siddarth, P., Schwartzberg, L., Kelly, D. F., Ahmed, S.

Open Accessindividual

A phenomenological analysis of Fellini's films to understand the effect of LSD therapy on his creativity

The paper argues that controlled LSD therapy during Federico Fellini’s personal and creative crisis altered his phenomenological experience of time, space, body/others and the self, thereby enhancing his filmmaking. Manifestations such as irregular temporal flow and flashbacks, hyper‑vivid colours detached from objects, disembodied sounds, grotesquely distorted bodies and a collapse of dream and reality contributed to the distinctive "felliniesque" aesthetic.

Published: July 31, 2023
Journal: Drug Science Policy and Law
Authors: Metastasio, A., Mignogna, S., Paci, R., Mancini, M., Melelli, F., Lando, E., Corazza, O., Stanghellini, G.

Open Accessindividual

Effect of LSD and music on the time-varying brain dynamics

Analysing fMRI from 15 participants under LSD and placebo with an intervening music run, the study finds that music interacting with LSD alters time-varying dynamics of a task‑positive brain state, while LSD alone changes dynamics of a state combining DMN, somatosensory and visual networks. Crucially, the authors report that music may have a lasting influence on resting‑state dynamics, particularly for networks involved in task‑positive processing.

Published: June 9, 2023
Journal: Psychopharmacology
Authors: Adamska, I., Finc, K.

Open Accessindividual

Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020

Analysis of 3,364 Global Drug Survey 2020 respondents who self-treated with LSD (n=1,996) or psilocybin mushrooms (n=1,368) found broadly favourable self-reported changes across 17 wellbeing and symptom items—largest effects on insight and mood—although 22.5% reported negative effects. Higher intensity, prior advice-seeking, use of psilocybin and treating PTSD predicted better averaged outcomes, while younger age, high intensity and LSD use predicted more negative effects, suggesting potential benefit but a higher adverse-event frequency than in clinical settings and informing safer community practice and clinical research.

Published: March 6, 2023
Journal: Journal of Psychopharmacology
Authors: Kopra, E., Ferris, J. A., Winstock, A. R., Kuypers, K. P. C., Young, A. H., Rucker, J.

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LSD

Set & Setting

Academic Research

Participant Experiences of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in a 6-Week Randomised Controlled Trial

Effects of external stimulation on psychedelic state neurodynamics

Nature-themed video intervention may improve cardiovascular safety of psilocybin-assisted therapy for alcohol use disorder

A phenomenological analysis of Fellini's films to understand the effect of LSD therapy on his creativity

Effect of LSD and music on the time-varying brain dynamics

Investigation of self-treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin mushrooms: Findings from the Global Drug Survey 2020

Clinical Trials

Drug Effects on Mood and Behavior – Expectancy (MESA-X)

Direct Comparison of Altered States of Consciousness Induced by LSD, Psilocybin, and DMT in Healthy Participants (LPD)

The Role of Personal Experience for the Therapeutic Attitude in the Context of Substance-assisted Therapy Training (TherPsySE)

Single Oral Lysergide (LSD 500 µg) in Inpatient Alcoholic Rehabilitation: Controlled Evaluation with Schizophrenic Sub-Analysis (Tomsovic & Edwards 1970)

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