Self-blinded microdosers improved, but so did the placebo group
What they did
Researchers at Imperial College London built an online protocol that let existing microdosers make their own identical microdose and placebo capsules, then randomly assign themselves across four weeks without knowing which they were taking.
What they found
Wellbeing, mindfulness and life satisfaction all improved in the microdose group. The placebo group improved by roughly the same amount, and no significant difference between the two survived analysis.
Worth knowing
The authors concluded the reported benefits were largely explained by expectation rather than the drug. This is the single most important study on this page for anyone considering microdosing, which is why it sits at the top.
Szigeti et al. Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing. eLife, 2021.
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microdosingWhen people guessed right, they felt moremicrodosingTwo more controlled trials, two more null resultsmicrodosingNearly nine thousand people, and microdosers reported lower anxiety and depressionThis is the part of the research that maps most closely to what we make. It is also the thinnest evidence base on the shelf, which is why we describe our capsules as a ritual rather than a remedy. See the range.
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