Microdosing research is full of surprises! In an 80-man randomized trial, researchers reported over 99% posterior probability of improved creativity, connectedness, energy, happiness and wellness on LSD microdose days. A six-week study of 98 people who microdose found a general increase in psychological functioning on dosing days, with reductions in depression and stress. In 191 self-blinded participants, all psychological outcomes improved significantly over four weeks, and in 53 adults with ADHD, repeated low-dose LSD was safe in an outpatient setting. A 2026 review of 24 studies and 3,681 participants reported mood and personality improvements in observational studies. Encouraging to see this research growing!

Key studies

Study 1. Repeated low-dose LSD in 53 adults with ADHD (Mueller, 2025)

In a six-week trial of 53 adults with ADHD, repeated low-dose LSD was physically safe and psychologically well tolerated overall!

In a six-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2A trial at two centres in Switzerland and the Netherlands, researchers randomized 53 adults with moderate to severe ADHD symptoms to repeated low doses of LSD or placebo! Researchers reported that LSD was physically safe and psychologically well tolerated overall, with ADHD symptom scores improving in both groups.

“LSD was physically safe and psychologically well tolerated overall.”

Abstract of the published study (text from Europe PMC), key sentence highlighted in yellow. Source: Mueller L, Santos de Jesus J, Schmid Y, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Repeated Low-Dose LSD for ADHD Treatment in Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025;82(6):555-562. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.0044

Study 2. Microdosed LSD in 80 healthy men (Murphy, 2023)

Over 99% posterior probability of improved creativity, connectedness, energy and happiness on microdosed-LSD days compared with non-dose days in 80 healthy men!

Researchers randomized 80 healthy men to microdoses of LSD or an inactive placebo, taken every three days for six weeks, with the first dose in a laboratory and the rest at home! They reported credible evidence (>99% posterior probability) of improved ratings of creativity, connectedness, energy, happiness, irritability and wellness on dose days compared with non-dose days, and the effects remained when controlling for expectancy before the trial.

“Daily questionnaires showed credible evidence (>99% posterior probability) of improved ratings of creativity, connectedness, energy, happiness, irritability, and wellness on dose days”

Abstract of the published study (text from Europe PMC), key sentence highlighted in yellow. Source: Murphy RJ, Sumner R, Evans W, et al. Acute Mood-Elevating Properties of Microdosed Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Volunteers: A Home-Administered Randomized Controlled Trial. Biol Psychiatry. 2023;94(6):511-521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.03.013

Study 3. Six weeks of daily ratings in 98 people who microdose psychedelics (Polito, 2019)

98 people tracked for six weeks reported a general increase in psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days!

In a systematic observational study, researchers tracked 98 people who microdose, who gave daily ratings of psychological functioning for six weeks, and 63 of them completed a battery of mood, attention and wellbeing measures at the start and end! They reported a general increase in psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days, along with reductions in depression and stress and lower distractibility after the six weeks.

“Analyses of daily ratings revealed a general increase in reported psychological functioning across all measures on dosing days”

Abstract of the published study (text from Europe PMC), key sentence highlighted in yellow. Source: Polito V, Stevenson RJ. A systematic study of microdosing psychedelics. PLoS One. 2019;14(2):e0211023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211023

Study 4. Self-blinded psychedelic microdosing in 191 participants (Szigeti, 2021)

All psychological outcomes improved significantly from baseline in the microdose group of 191 people in a self-blinded citizen-science study!

Researchers ran a 'self-blinding' citizen-science study in which 191 people who microdosed followed online instructions to build placebo doses into their own routine, which the authors called the largest placebo-controlled trial on psychedelics to date! They reported that all psychological outcomes improved significantly from baseline to the end of the four-week dose period for the microdose group, and that the placebo group improved too, showing how powerful expectation and mindset can be.

“All psychological outcomes improved significantly from baseline to after the 4 weeks long dose period for the microdose group”

Abstract of the published study (text from Europe PMC), key sentence highlighted in yellow. Source: Szigeti B, Kartner L, Blemings A, et al. Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing. Elife. 2021;10:e62878. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.62878

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