Mind & Matter is a monthly column by Nick Jikomes, PhD, Leaflys Director of Science and Innovation.
Microdosing is the practice of ingesting small amounts of a psychoactive substanceenough to get some kind of perceived benefit, but not enough to become intoxicated or feel the psychoactive effects of a full dose.
Microdosing psychedelics has become a popular new wellness trend. You can allegedly get various mental health benefits such as enhanced mood and creativity. Everyone from health-conscious young professionals to high-powered tech executives have credited this as a powerful brain hack: a cognitive boost with no obvious side effects.
Psychedelics have long been associated with creativity and have been scientifically shown to stimulate neural plasticity, the ability of brain cells to rewire themselves, which is thought to underlie their therapeutic mental health effects.
This has led to the alluring idea of microdosing: What if you can get the benefits of enhanced neural plasticity without the ego-dissolving hallucinatory experience? Just pop a magic mushroom gummy and watch your spirits lift.
Theres big commercial interest here. In the language of startups, microdosing could increase the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for psychedelics, widening the pool of potential consumers. If microdosing has demonstrable benefits, it could help scale up psychedelic medicine. Large doses of psilocybin may have therapeutic effects, but patients require preparation and supervision before, during, and after their experience. Smaller doses with sub-psychedelic effects dont require such time- and resource-intensive oversight.
Compared to macrodosing with supervision and integration, microdosing more cleanly fits the standard pharmaceutical treatment template in psychiatry: diagnose the patients issue, prescribe a non-ego-dissolving drug, add talk therapy as needed. Repeat.
Related
How to dose psychedelic mushrooms
Besides, going on a multi-hour psychedelic trip is simply too intimidating for many people.
What if we can turn millions more people on to psychedelics in less time and with fewer side effects by using lower doses of these drugs? And can we sell low-dose consumer packaged goods?
Life advice: When something sounds too good to be true, assume it is until proven otherwise.
Almost all evidence for the benefits of psychedelic microdosing in humans is anecdotal. The few human studies out there rely on self-reported data, which is hard to draw reliable conclusions from, especially when youre measuring something subjective.
People are prone to expectancy effectsthey are biased to report what they expect to experience, especially when they really want a particular outcome. This is why double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are the gold standard.
When evaluating self-reported microdosing data, apply a macrodose of caution. For example, this recent study showed that adults who microdose psychedelics self-report lower levels of anxiety and depression. While thats good to hear, the reported effects were small. Moreover, the data are from people who were motivated by mental health concernspeople who really wanted that result.
These are perfect conditions for expectancy effects. Because the data are self-reported and theres no real control group, we cant bank on these results.
Related
Mushrooms / Psilocybin
An interesting psychoactive phenomenon in themselves, placebo effects are widespread in medicine: A persons expectations can drive measurable physiological change. Placebo effects are common in situations where the measured outcome is subjective, which is exactly what microdosing enthusiasts claimmild subjective effects. Placebo effects are common in the world of pain medicine: Give someone a sugar pill that they think is a pain drug, and they actually experience reduced pain.
Taken to its lowest extreme, microdosing becomes homeopathy: The dose is so low that its zero. Imagine collecting data from health-conscious homeopathy enthusiasts who want to lower their anxiety levels with homeopathy. You give half of them a homeopathic product and the other half a placebo, then ask how they feel. Theyre all likely going to report an improvement.
Indeed, this is exactly what was found in the only placebo-controlled study Im aware of on psychedelic microdosing. The people who microdosed reported improvements, but so did the placebo group, with no difference between them.
Placebo effects are real. But if your mood boost is caused by the mere belief that a 0.1g mushroom chocolate is an antidepressant rather than a pharmacological effect from psilocybin, so what? Theres nothing wrong with a placebo-induced mood boost so long as theres no downside risk.
But there could be downside risks.
I spoke to medicinal chemist Dr. David Olson, whose lab studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which psychedelics and other psychoplastogens work in the brain. On the subject of microdosing, he offered the following words of caution:
In the interview, he referenced homeostatic plasticity, a known brain phenomenon, in which our bodies regulate crucial bodily functions to maintain balance, or homeostasis. Think of it as biologys Goldilocks Principlewhen you get too hot, automatic mechanisms kick in to cool you down, such as sweating; when youre too cold, there are automatic mechanisms for generating heat, such as shivering. Our systems have to stay in balance for our cells to work properly; not too hot, not too cold.
When our ability to homeostatically regulate breaks down, many systems can dysfunction. Diabetes is a good example. Normally, blood sugar is tightly regulated. When it spikes after a meal, our body automatically senses this and brings down blood sugar levels to restore balance, or homeostasis.
But the process isnt perfect. Biology is messy. When your body pulls blood sugar back down to normal, it often overshoots. This can result in fatigue, which is why a food coma can follow a big meal.
When this process goes awry, as in diabetes, blood sugar levels drift out of the Goldilocks range for extended periods, which can have a variety of negative physiological consequences.
Related
Psychedelic medicine: The benefits of psychedelics
In the brain, neural plasticity, the ability of brain cells to rewire themselves, is under homeostatic control. Plasticity is crucial for learning, but if your brain became too plasticif you cranked up the plasticity thermostat all the wayyou would, in some sense, have the mind of an infant. Your existing memories would destabilize. You would have difficulty taking coherent action.
Conversely, if you turned the plasticity thermostat in the opposite direction, you would become rigid, with little ability to learn and adapt.
As with blood sugar, so with plasticity: not too much, not too little. Your brain has built-in controls to sense when theres too much growth, and when that happens, it can turn down the growth thermostat, causing neurons to shrivel up by trimming back their connections.
In other words, stimulating the growth of too many neural connections can trigger an automatic process that results in the exact opposite. This is the risk with regular microdosing of psychedelics.
In one experiment, rats were given a small dose of DMT, below the threshold thought to cause psychedelic effects, every third day for several weeks. Similar to single, large doses of psychedelics, antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects were observed. Unlike single doses, which cause robust neuronal growth, small doses of DMT every few days resulted in either no change in growth or a decrease.
The idea here is that if neurons become overstimulated after multiple doses of a psychedelic, the brain might be dialing down its growth thermostat to compensate. Its conceivable this could even make the symptoms of some psychiatric disorders worse, perhaps similar to the food coma thats triggered when your body undershoots blood sugar levels after a meal-induced spike.
A similar theme emerges from animal studies that used large doses of LSD. Intermittent, high doses of LSD given for more than three months lead to persistent behavioral deficits, while a similar dose given over a shorter timespan had antidepressant-like effects.
The dose and the length of treatment are critical for determining outcomes, which can be either beneficial or detrimental.
And theres another potential risk from frequently taking psychedelics.
Psychedelics are most commonly associated with a brain receptor called serotonin 2A (5-HT2A), which is crucial for their mind-expanding effects. But many psychedelics also activate another serotonin receptor, 5-HT2B. This receptor is abundant in heart tissue and is implicated in drug-induced valvular heart disease.
The concern is that, while occasional use of a 5-HT2B drug may not cause any problems, repeated use for extended periods could trigger heart problems, even at a low dose. While this heart issue has not been directly tied to classic psychedelics like DMT, psilocin, or LSD, there is a well-documented history linking valvular heart disease to the long-term use of other drugs that activate this receptor.
One thing thats clear about psychedelics and other psychoplastogens is that both the dose and frequency of exposure matter. Unfortunately, we just dont know enough to give anyone a clear playbook on the benefits and risks of taking different doses of these drugs over different time frames.
We know that single, large doses given under appropriate conditions can be therapeutic. We also know that lots of people say that microdosing is a game-changer, and there are early indications of potential therapeutic benefits. But there may be serious concerns lurking beneath the surface.
I think adults should be treated like adults: They should be informed of the facts and be free to make their own decisions. As for myself, Im going to stick with the occasional macrodose.
To learn more about Mind & Matter and listen to the podcast that inspired this article, visit THIS link.
Nick Jikomes, PhD
Nick is Leafly's Director of Science & Innovation and holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Harvard University and a B.S. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the host of a popular science podcast, which you can listen to for free at: http://www.nickjikomes.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @trikomes
By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from Leafly and you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.
Read the original here:
What are the potential risks of microdosing psychedelics? - Leafly
- Psychedelics Companies in Oregon Will Have to Grapple With 280E - Business Insider - May 21st, 2022
- TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of May 16 - The Dales Report - May 21st, 2022
- Psychedelics and Mindfulness: The Future of Mental Health? | Microdose - Microdose Psychedelic Insights - May 21st, 2022
- CATALYST Summit: 3 Psychedelic Speakers to Catch This Weekend - Psychedelic Spotlight - May 21st, 2022
- 'I took ketamine to treat my severe depression' - iNews - May 21st, 2022
- TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of May 9 - The Dales Report - May 15th, 2022
- Psychedelic Patents are Broken Because the Patent System Is Broken - VICE - May 15th, 2022
- Magic mushrooms are on WeHos mind - WEHOville - May 15th, 2022
- Behind the Scenes on the First Study To Compare the Effects of LSD and Psilocybin - Technology Networks - May 15th, 2022
- Revitalist's Strategic Initiatives Continue to Exceed Expectations for Execution Giving Company Record High Revenues Since Opening in 2018. - Business... - May 15th, 2022
- MDMA as medicine: Stemming the tide of veteran suicides in Western North Carolina - Smoky Mountain News - May 15th, 2022
- Cybin's CYB0004 Shows Positive Preclinical Results Over ... - May 3rd, 2022
- Psychedelics played role in Wallace Falls hiker's death ... - May 3rd, 2022
- The Mainstream Healthcare VCs Dipping Their Toes Into Psychedelics - Business Insider - May 3rd, 2022
- LSD Is Back On Campus, But This Time It's Approved - Green Market Report - May 3rd, 2022
- Mixing mushrooms and alcohol: What you need to know - Medical News Today - May 3rd, 2022
- Mycotopia Therapies Partners with Public Policy Specialist PsychedelicsEUROPE to Explore Opportunities in the European Market - GlobeNewswire - May 3rd, 2022
- Pharmadrug Advances Opthalmology Program with Final Selection of Lead DMT-Analogue to Provide Sustained Control of Elevated Intraocular Pressure for... - May 3rd, 2022
- Bicycle Day: Honoring The Onset Of The Psychedelic Revolution As It Zooms Across The Globe - Forbes - April 15th, 2022
- Psilocybin Rewires the Brain for People with Depression - University of California, San Francisco - April 15th, 2022
- Field Trip Health Houston's psychedelic healing with ketamine helps patient with depressive anxiety - Houston Chronicle - April 15th, 2022
- Mental Health Week: Magnetic Stimulation, Psychedelics and Tai Chi How Treatments For Anxiety And Depression Are Growing - KPCC - April 15th, 2022
- Psychedelics Want To Win Over The Sleep Aid Market - Green Market Report - April 15th, 2022
- Terran Biosciences and Blumentech SL announce the acquisition of a patent portfolio covering the groundbreaking discoveries of prominent psychedelics... - April 15th, 2022
- Delic Labs Receives Health Canada 56 Exemption to Conduct Research on MDMA, LSD and Other Psychedelic Compounds - Yahoo Finance - April 15th, 2022
- Experts discuss the intersections of cannabis, health and food - CSU Pueblo Today - April 15th, 2022
- Psychedelics - PMC - April 11th, 2022
- Psychedelics - PubMed - April 11th, 2022
- Peace with psychedelics: Palestinians, Israelis took ayahuasca - Big Think - April 11th, 2022
- Study maps psychedelic-induced changes in consciousness to specific regions of the brain - PsyPost - April 11th, 2022
- The Next Big Addiction Treatment - The New York Times - April 11th, 2022
- SABI Mind and Reverie Psychedelics Partner To Expand Research Into Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies - Benzi - Benzinga - April 11th, 2022
- Jaden Smith on His Trippy Summer '22 Collection and the Power of Mushrooms - Complex - April 11th, 2022
- Biomind Labs to Present at Benzinga Psychedelics Capital Conference in the U.S. on April 19th 2022 - Business Wire - March 31st, 2022
- Psychedelics' Interaction With Psych Meds: More Q's Than A's - Medscape - March 31st, 2022
- The Insights Psychedelics Give You Arent Always True - March 18th, 2022
- Stage Set for Psychedelics Stock Boom: Here's Where ... - March 18th, 2022
- SXSW stage is a collision of weed, metaverse, NFTs, acid and saving the planet - PitchBook News & Analysis - March 18th, 2022
- Jaden Smith Recalls His Experience With Psychedelic Mushrooms: Everything Just Becomes So Beautiful - Koimoi - March 18th, 2022
- Michigan Activists Submit Psychedelics Decriminalization ... - March 17th, 2022
- Psychedelics and the Future of Psychiatry - March 17th, 2022
- Mind Cure Gives Up On Psychedelics, Fires C-Suite, And Reverts To Shell After Strategic Review - The Deep Dive - March 17th, 2022
- A Fully-Seated Audience Takes Post-Punk with the Psychedelic Furs - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun - March 17th, 2022
- 5 people who used psychedelics to treat PTSD describe their trips - Business Insider - March 15th, 2022
- What is Microdosing, and Does it Work? - The New York Times - March 15th, 2022
- Bolt's Breslow Teams With Psychedelics Founder on Crypto Pharma Startup - The Information - March 15th, 2022
- Enveric, University of Calgary to study psychedelic therapy - OutSourcing-Pharma.com - March 15th, 2022
- Psychedelic therapy integral to ancient societies may be coming to Pennsylvania - 90.5 WESA - March 15th, 2022
- The Bluntness Debuts The BLUNTNESS/100 Its Inaugural List of the 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis & Psychedelics - 69News WFMZ-TV - March 15th, 2022
- Former NFL Player Eben Britton On His New Book, And The Tools He Used To Rebuild His Life (Including Psychedelics) - The Dales Report - March 15th, 2022
- Made by Marlo: Max Ingersoll and the Meaning of Meditation - Harvard Independent - March 15th, 2022
- What are Psychedelics? - March 8th, 2022
- Get the Legal Psychedelics for Sale in the USA ... - March 8th, 2022
- Fireside Project manifests a $200K fund to improve access to careers in psychedelic health - TechCrunch - March 8th, 2022
- Oklahoma bill to study mental health effects of 'shrooms' advances - Oklahoman.com - March 8th, 2022
- Terran Biosciences and University of Maryland, Baltimore announce exclusive licensing deal for a portfolio of patents and data supporting novel... - March 8th, 2022
- Cybin Teams With Chopra Foundation To Foster Psychedelics Awareness - Benzinga - Benzinga - March 8th, 2022
- How My Drinking Was Used to Deny Me Treatment for Depression - Filter - March 8th, 2022
- Seelos Therapeutics: Year-End Results and Business Highlights Microdose - Microdose Psychedelic Insights - March 8th, 2022
- No worries: Severe anxiety disorders to get the Incannex, Monash Uni treatment via psychedelics within vir ... - Stockhead - March 8th, 2022
- Meet the 16 Most Influential Women Shaping the Future of Psychedelics - Business Insider - February 15th, 2022
- Psychedelics startups are taking on mental health - Fast Company - February 15th, 2022
- Psychedelics Are Trending: If You Are Seeing Psilocybin In The Headlines Everywhere, You Are Right! - Ben - Benzinga - February 15th, 2022
- Why theres a push to legalize psychedelic drug therapy in Missouri - KTVI Fox 2 St. Louis - February 15th, 2022
- Cybin Announces Grant of U.S. Patent Covering its Proprietary Compound CYB004 (Deuterated DMT) for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders - Business Wire - February 15th, 2022
- Psychedelic-assisted therapy program coming to Vancouver Island University | CTV News - CTV News VI - February 15th, 2022
- Sponsor 'confident' cannabis banking will pass this year (Newsletter: February 14, 2022) - Marijuana Moment - February 15th, 2022
- Core One Labs' Successful Patent Application Filing for Protection of its Biosynthetic Production System for Psilocybin Marks a Significant Milestone... - February 15th, 2022
- IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) Expands Collaboration With Microdose Psychedelic Insights to Serve as Official Media Sponsor for all 2022 Events - Yahoo... - February 9th, 2022
- Journey Colab Believes It Has The Formula For Addiction Treatment - The Dales Report - February 9th, 2022
- Psychedelics Without the Trip Could Be 'Healing Magic' for Mental Health - Singularity Hub - February 7th, 2022
- Utah Lawmakers Vote To Study Benefits Of Psychedelics In Treating Mental Health Disorders - Marijuana Moment - February 7th, 2022
- TDR's Top 5 Psychedelic Developments For The Week Of January 31 - The Dales Report - February 7th, 2022
- Psychedelic Therapy and Suicide: A Myth Busted? - Medscape - February 7th, 2022
- Back to the future: Psychedelic drugs in ... - Harvard Health - February 1st, 2022
- Seattle Legalizes Psychedelics - The Seattle Medium - February 1st, 2022
- How to Change Your Mind - Wikipedia - February 1st, 2022
- The Psychedelic Drug Industry Appears To Have A New Sugar Daddy - The Dales Report - February 1st, 2022
- Increased psychedelic use during pandemic prompts new research - University of Miami - February 1st, 2022
- What Is Microdosing and Can It Help Mental Health? - PsychCentral.com - February 1st, 2022