This was a smart way to study a large number of microdosers in today’s regulatory environment, says Garcia-Romeu, who helped evaluate the research for the journal. eLife. The fact that so many people who took a placebo reported benefit “casts the whole microdosing phenomenon into question,” he says.
However, imaging studies do make it clear that something it’s happening.
In one, 20 healthy people were scanned with fMRI several hours after taking a microdose of LSD or a placebo. The amygdala, considered the emotional center of the brain, changed the way it interacted with other brain regions in the microdosers, indicating the potential to better regulate negative emotions, says study co-author Katrin Preller, a neuropsychologist at the University of Zurich. In fact, those whose brains experienced the improved connectivity also subjectively reported feeling more optimistic, Preller says. Another study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity in 22 microdosers of LSD and documented more activity in the brain than normally occurs during rest, something also seen with high-dose psychedelics.
The effects of microdosing
Despite a dearth of research, people in the United States are turning to microdosing for a variety of reasons. Holdt says microdosing on psilocybin helps him have fun with other people. He suffers from social anxiety, so without the drugs his mind is constantly mulling over all the things he might say or do. “Microdosing helps me stop that internal monologue so I can be more comfortable and present,” he says. He has had the same effect using high-dose psychedelics, which he first experienced in high school, but says the more subtle effects of microdosing make it easier to incorporate into everyday life. “You don’t need to take a day off work or have someone watching you [to make sure a trip doesn’t turn ugly],” he says.
Many microdosers find that it helps them with the job. Dusty, a 40-year-old audio engineer from Philadelphia (who asked that his nickname only be used), says that the small amount of LSD he takes once a week increases his productivity, his desire to collaborate and his creativity at work. For example, when setting up sound systems for live concerts, “there are a million little problems you have to solve every day, and there’s not always a good roadmap,” he says. On the days he microdoses, he has noticed that he has “a little more enthusiasm for solving a problem that leads to long-term solutions, rather than just making it work for now.”
Others microdose to self-treat mental health conditions. Karen Gilbert, a 69-year-old retired nurse from Lopez Island, Washington, hopes that microdosing psilocybin, which she began in November, can help depression she has suffered from for more than two decades. Gilbert, one of Zelfand’s patients, says she noticed a difference almost immediately. “For the first time in a long time, I’m excited about projects I want to do that feel like opportunities rather than obligations,” she says.
Zelfand herself tried microdosing several times, but did not enjoy the effects. “I don’t feel good when I do it. She seems like she makes me a little nervous,” she says.
Some of Zelfand’s patients have had similar unwanted experiences. People with general anxiety disorders, and especially bipolar disorder, should probably avoid microdosing because it can trigger agitation or mania, she says.
Experts worry too that microdosing on a regular basis over a long period of time could theoretically weaken heart valves, like the damage done by diet drugs phentermine and fenfluramine (Phen/Fen) in the 1990s. Both Phen/Fen and psychedelics act on one of the body’s serotonin receptors.known as 5-HT2B, says Garcia-Romeu of Johns Hopkins.
Even if microdosing proves safe and effective, some experts fear that widespread recreational use could render it useless later in life if it turns out to be valuable for important mental health purposes but is tolerated by people after frequent use. “If we introduce more of these types of substances, that could undermine their therapeutic efficacy when we really need them for medicine, such as for end-of-life distress,” says Conor Murray, a UCLA neuroscientist who conducted the EEG research.
And while they don’t trigger the same wild thoughts and images that high doses of these drugs do, some microdosers have reported some impairment, Johnson says. “If this turns out to be the case, it can be difficult to drive, care for your young child, or make important decisions at work.”
Also, of course, psychedelics are illegal, which means there is no quality control on the supply. What’s more, “people have lost their jobs because they are taking microdoses, and they can be jailed and they are,” says García-Romeu.
But even those concerned about the growing use of psychedelics say microdosing may eventually prove beneficial for some people. Johnson, of Johns Hopkins, believes depression could be relieved by microdosing, though he’s much more excited about the possibility that a person might get more relief after one or two high-dose sessions, something his research is bearing fruit.
Krystal believes that until more is known about microdosing, people should wait. “Right now, it should only be done in the context of experimental research,” she says. “There, protections can be in place, and the data generated will inform our understanding of these doses and medications.”
Additional microdose studies could also shed light on our brains. For example, experts don’t fully understand the role of another psychedelic-activated serotonin receptor, 5-HT2A, says Johnson. “We have a lot to learn about [this receptor]. Is it related to naturally occurring mystical experiences such as near death experiences, even alien abduction encounters? He asks. “How can we use microdosing research to understand more about the nature of the human mind?”
This article was originally published on nationalgeographic.com
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