Might Microdosing Psychedelics Be Safe and Beneficial? An Initial Exploration

Fadiman, James; Korb, Sophia

doi:10.1080/02791072.2019.1593561

Cited by 86 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The 5HT2A-R is found in high concentrations in regions of the brain vulnerable to dementia such as the prefrontal cortex and aforementioned hippocampus (Wood et al, 2012;Catlow et al, 2013;Bryson et al, 2017). Psychedelics induce brain plasticity and modify connectivity between brain regions and there is considerable anecdotal evidence of cognitive benefits from micro-dosing-a dose that does not cause perceptual change or impair functioning (Carhart-Harris et al, 2012;Wood et al, 2012;Catlow et al, 2013;Muthukumaraswamy et al, 2013;Zhang and Stackman, 2015;Griffiths et al, 2016;Carhart-Harris and Goodwin, 2017a;Carhart-Harris and Nutt, 2017;Johnstad, 2018;Fadiman and Korb, 2019;Kuypers et al, 2019;Lea et al, 2020a). This mini-review will explore the role of classical psychedelics psilocybin and Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in treating AD with a focus on sub-perceptual-or ''micro''-dosing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

Jones

O'Kelly

2020

Front. Synaptic Neurosci.

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Currently, there are no disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) or any other dementia subtype. The renaissance in psychedelic research in recent years, in particular studies involving psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), coupled with anecdotal reports of cognitive benefits from micro-dosing, suggests that they may have a therapeutic role in a range of psychiatric and neurological conditions due to their potential to stimulate neurogenesis, provoke neuroplastic changes and reduce neuroinflammation. This inevitably makes them interesting candidates for therapeutics in dementia. This mini-review will look at the basic science and current clinical evidence for the role of psychedelics in treating dementia, especially early AD, with a particular focus on microdosing of the classical psychedelics LSD and psilocybin.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

Jones

O'Kelly

2020

Front. Synaptic Neurosci.

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“…Due to technical limitations, our LC-MS method may not be sensitive enough to detect brain or plasma concentrations of (2R,6R)-HNK within the picogram range, and future studies may have more success using accelerated mass spectrometry (39,40). Although, to our knowledge, these microdoses of (R,S)-ketamine and its metabolites have not previously been studied, there has been a recent resurgence in examining the potential benefit of microdosing, in which small quantities of psychedelic substances are repeatedly ingested (39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47). This unique method of administration is reported to exert a myriad range of benefits, including improved mood, heightened creativity, and increased focus, without inducing nonspecific psychotropic or addictive side effects (43,46,47).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although, to our knowledge, these microdoses of (R,S)-ketamine and its metabolites have not previously been studied, there has been a recent resurgence in examining the potential benefit of microdosing, in which small quantities of psychedelic substances are repeatedly ingested (39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47). This unique method of administration is reported to exert a myriad range of benefits, including improved mood, heightened creativity, and increased focus, without inducing nonspecific psychotropic or addictive side effects (43,46,47). Moreover, evidence suggests that studying microdosing at the preclinical stage may lead to more reliable predictions of the pharmacokinetics in human populations (41,42,44,45).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ovarian hormones mediate the prophylactic efficacy of (R,S)-ketamine and (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine in female mice

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Number of words in the abstract: 227 (250 max)Number of words in the text: 3812 (4000 max) ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Females are more likely than males to develop major depressive disorder (MDD) after exposure to stress. We previously reported that the administration of (R,S)-ketamine before stress can prevent stress-induced depressive-like behavior in male mice but have yet to assess efficacy in female mice or for other compounds, such as the metabolites of (R,S)-ketamine. METHODS:We administered (R,S)-ketamine or its metabolites (2R,6R)hydroxynorketamine ((2R,6R)-HNK) and (2S,6S)-HNK at various doses 1 week before one of a number of stressors, including contextual fear conditioning (CFC), learned helplessness (LH), and chronic immobilization stress (CIS), in male and female 129S6/SvEv mice. To examine the interaction between ovarian hormones and stress resilience, female mice also underwent ovariectomy surgery (OVX) and a hormone replacement protocol prior to drug administration. RESULTS: (R,S)-ketamine and (2S,6S)-HNK, but not (2R,6R)-HNK, attenuated learned fear in male mice. (R,S)-ketamine and (2R,6R)-HNK, but not (2S,6S)-HNK, significantly reduced stress-induced depressive-like behavior in male and female mice. (R,S)ketamine and (2R,6R)-HNK) were prophylactically effective at a lower dose (10 mg/kg and 0.025 mg/kg, respectively) in female mice than in male mice (30 mg/kg and 0.075 mg/kg, respectively). Moreover, ovarian-derived hormones were necessary and sufficient for prophylaxis in female mice. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that prophylactics against stress-induced depressive-like behavior can be developed in a sex-specific manner and that ovarian hormones mediate prophylactic efficacy in females. To our knowledge, this is the first

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“…(Fadiman and Korb 2019a, p. 322) Those who did participate were asked to evaluate the following 23 affects (along with quality of sleep and pain): Note that the list includes positive and negative affects in random order. Using this scale, Fadiman and Korb (2019b) found that 52.5% of the people who participated in the study experienced a relative improvement in the positive affects, and 31% experienced a decrease in negative affects. Overall, they reported elevated moods, and they found that microdosing was helpful for their productivity.…”

Section: Aggregating Experiencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Creativity

Hardon¹

2020

Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty

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The microdosing of mind-altering substances, like LSD and magic mushrooms, is a trend among young creatives, who report enhanced creativity, improved focus, and other productivity-enhancing effects. This chapter, Chemical Creativity, describes how both users and researchers have been exploring the range of effects of microdosing, including through more experimental ethnographic research. Using virtual ethnography, we analyzed drug users’ narratives of their personal experiences, practices, and motivations with microdosing. We also collaborated with participants using online platforms focused on drug experimentation to generate data, combining their collective experiences while acknowledging individual expertise. Finally, we reviewed research on clinical trials that compare the effects of psychoactive substances, like LSD, with placebos. What emerges is a clearer picture of the benefits of microdosing, how dosages are tweaked, and how users engage in “harm reduction from below” by spreading their cautionary tales within the microdosing world. In so doing, we offer a glimpse into how this relatively new practice develops, as it gains popularity with both laypeople and the academic and scientific communities.

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Might Microdosing Psychedelics Be Safe and Beneficial? An Initial Exploration

Cited by 86 publications

References 2 publications

Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

Psychedelics as a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

Ovarian hormones mediate the prophylactic efficacy of (R,S)-ketamine and (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine in female mice

Chemical Creativity

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