Home | Community | Message Board


This site includes paid links. Please support our sponsors.


Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!

Shop: Kraken Kratom Kratom Capsules for Sale   MagicBag.co Certified Organic All-In-One Grow Bags by Magic Bag   OlympusMyco.com Olympus Myco Bulk Substrate   North Spore Cultivation Supplies   Unfolding Nature Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order   Left Coast Kratom Buy Kratom Extract   Mushroom-Hut Mono Tub Substrate   Original Sensible Seeds Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds   Bridgetown Botanicals Bridgetown Botanicals   PhytoExtractum Kratom Powder for Sale

Jump to first unread post Pages: 1
InvisibleveggieM

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
Microdoses of LSD show antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled study
    #28635310 - 01/26/24 07:27 AM (3 months, 21 days ago)

Microdoses of LSD show antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled study
January 18, 2024 - PsyPost



In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered that low doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), a psychedelic drug, may have potential antidepressant effects in individuals showing mild to moderate depressive symptoms. This new insight could pave the way for alternative treatments in mental health care. The findings have been published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

For years, depression has remained a significant challenge in mental health, with traditional treatments like medications and psychotherapy not always effective for all patients. This gap in treatment efficacy has spurred interest in alternative therapeutic approaches. Recently, the focus has shifted towards psychedelic compounds like psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) and LSD.

LSD is a powerful, synthetic psychedelic drug known for its profound effects on perception, emotions, and thoughts. Originally synthesized in 1938, it gained prominence in the 1960s and is characterized by its ability to induce vivid hallucinations and altered states of consciousness, even at low doses.

While high doses of psychedelic substances have shown promising results when combined with therapy, they come with risks and require significant resources. An alternative, and increasingly popular yet medically unsanctioned practice, is microdosing – taking very low doses of psychedelic drugs.

Previous studies on microdosing have primarily involved healthy individuals, yielding mixed results. Most did not find significant psychiatric benefits, prompting researchers at the University of Chicago to explore whether individuals with existing depressive symptoms might respond differently to low doses of LSD.

“There has been a great deal of public interest in ‘microdosing,’ or the idea that very low doses of LSD, taken every 3-4 days, can improve mood, cognition and creativity, among many other claims,” explained study author Harriet de Wit, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience. “However, such effects are highly susceptible to expectancy effects, i.e., people experience what they expect to experience. Therefore, controlled studies are essential to determine whether the effect of the drug exceeds that of a placebo.”

“Several such controlled studies have been conducted in healthy volunteers, but until now, the effects of the microdoses have been difficult to demonstrate. One limitation of most of the studies to date is that they have tested healthy adults, whereas its effects may be more apparent in participants with some psychiatric symptomatology. This study investigated a low dose of LSD in participants who reported some level of depression.”

The study involved 39 healthy volunteers, aged 18 to 35, who were recruited from the university community. Participants were divided into two groups based on their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II, a standard measure of depression. Those with scores indicating mild to moderate depression formed the “high” depression group, while those with lower scores comprised the “low” depression group.

Each participant underwent two five-hour laboratory sessions, receiving either a 26 microgram dose of LSD or a placebo in a random order, with sessions spaced at least a week apart. To ensure a double-blind study, neither the participants nor the researchers knew who received LSD or the placebo during each session. The study included various measures to assess the effects of LSD: subjective mood and drug effects ratings, creativity tasks, emotional facial recognition tasks, cardiovascular measures, and blood tests to measure LSD levels.

Participants, regardless of their depression level, reported feeling the effects of LSD and liked the drug effect more compared to the placebo. The high-depression group showed a tendency to enjoy the effects of LSD more than the low-depression group. Participants with higher depression scores also experienced significant increases in mood measures like elation and vigor following LSD consumption, a trend not observed in the low-depression group.

“We were surprised that the drug preferentially increased feelings of positive mood in the depressed sample, compared to the controls. There are many possible reasons for this, which will need to be examined in future studies,” de Wit told PsyPost.

Perhaps one of the most significant findings of the study was observed 48 hours after the LSD session. Participants in the high depression score group reported a notable decrease in their depression scores, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II, compared to their scores after the placebo session. This suggests a potential lasting antidepressant effect of LSD, particularly in individuals with existing depressive symptoms.

The findings provide preliminary evidence that “people with depressed mood may experience different effects from a single dose of the drug, compared to nondepressed people,” de Wit explained. “However, this initial finding needs to be replicated and extended to other samples.”

Contrary to popular claims about microdosing enhancing creativity, LSD did not significantly alter performance on various creativity-related tasks. Additionally, the drug did not affect emotional facial recognition abilities. In terms of physiological effects, LSD was found to increase both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, while heart rate remained unaffected. Interestingly, the plasma levels of LSD did not correlate with either the subjective experience of the drug or how much participants liked its effects.

However, the study is not without its limitations. The high depression group reported only mild to moderate symptoms, and it’s unclear whether the findings would apply to those with more severe depression. Additionally, the study used only a single dose of LSD, leaving the potential effects of repeated microdosing unexplored. Another limitation was the homogenous nature of the participant pool, primarily consisting of young adults with some prior psychedelic experience and minimal negative reactions.

“The subject sample was small,” de Wit said. “The participants in the ‘depressed’ group reported a relatively low level of symptoms, and so it will be important to see whether this finding is replicable in larger samples including those with more severe symptoms. We do not know why the groups differed: It could have been because of long-lasting neurobiological adaptations (e.g., related to prior stress), or it could be related more directly to their mood state on the day of the drug sessions. We do not know if similar findings would be obtained with other symptomatic samples (e.g., anxiety). We do not know what the effects of repeated administration of the drug would be, in the pattern that people report ‘microdosing’ outside the laboratory.”

Future research should focus on a more diverse demographic, including individuals with a broader range of psychiatric symptoms and past drug use history. It will also be important to investigate whether these findings can be replicated, how long the effects last, and if the results are more pronounced when combined with psychotherapy or in individuals with more severe depression. Further studies should also explore the potential antidepressant effect of even lower doses that do not produce perceptual effects.”

The study, “Greater subjective effects of a low dose of LSD in participants with depressed mood“, was authored by Hanna Molla, Royce Lee, Ilaria Tare, and Harriet de Wit.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
InvisibleHolybullshit
Stranger
Registered: 01/06/19
Posts: 1,576
Re: Microdoses of LSD show antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled study [Re: veggie]
    #28635384 - 01/26/24 08:38 AM (3 months, 21 days ago)

I have found microdosing LSD more effective than microdosing shrooms.

Unfortunately it's much, much harder and more expensive to source.

If we could just get it rescheduled...I am certain it would find it's way into a prescription drug in no time. It'd be pretty damn easy to prevent "abuse" if formulated for microdosing... assuming patients didn't stockpile it, and even if they did you'd be talking about one light trip a month at most, or two moderate doses a year, not a big deal. It would almost never lead to people tripping their balls off their prescription or any rx diverting.

How I "micro"dose appears to be similar to the method in the study. I aim for threshold effects once a week. Not really microdosing. Rather than solely taking a completely ineffectual dose daily as some people do.

Though if I am currently experiencing a depressive episode or symptoms I might follow either the weekly, minidose I'll call it, with daily micro doses. Or macrodose a maximum of once a month, again followed by daily microdoses and weekly minidose.

When using shrooms the macrodose is more called for, and minidosing days might feature multiple redoses, building up to threshold effects and holding it there a little longer.

True microdosing in and of itself often seems ineffective, but following with microdosing reinforces the minidose and gives its benefits more staying power.

Edited by Holybullshit (01/26/24 08:54 AM)

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
OfflineBlue Cthulhu
Undefined
 User Gallery

Registered: 05/27/19
Posts: 816
Loc: With the loons
Last seen: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Re: Microdoses of LSD show antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled study [Re: Holybullshit]
    #28635476 - 01/26/24 10:20 AM (3 months, 20 days ago)

Yes I’m not sure I would call 26 micrograms a microdose either, that’s a quarter of what would be a macro dose for many folks.

But it’s a good dose for hiking, nature activities. Albert Hoffman enjoyed low doses in nature


--------------------
:musicnote:  :royalrainbow:
"Things are true that I forget, but no one taught that to me yet."
A disembodied-re-embodied consciousness be-ing
(With all the accoutrements.)

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
InvisibleHolybullshit
Stranger
Registered: 01/06/19
Posts: 1,576
Re: Microdoses of LSD show antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled study [Re: Blue Cthulhu]
    #28635503 - 01/26/24 10:54 AM (3 months, 20 days ago)

It really does enhance the day, and you can still keep it together and function fine. With no anxiousness or body load.

Seems what recreational users would call a threshold dose is the key to unlocking the medicinal effects of a lot of these substances...ketamine, LSD, tryptamines/pea's, even cannabis in a lot of cases. Threshold cb1 agonism from THC combined with higher amounts of CBD and other cannabinoids with off target actions are where I see the most neurological benefits from cannabis.

The dosage makes the poison.

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Jump to top Pages: 1

Shop: Kraken Kratom Kratom Capsules for Sale   MagicBag.co Certified Organic All-In-One Grow Bags by Magic Bag   OlympusMyco.com Olympus Myco Bulk Substrate   North Spore Cultivation Supplies   Unfolding Nature Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order   Left Coast Kratom Buy Kratom Extract   Mushroom-Hut Mono Tub Substrate   Original Sensible Seeds Autoflowering Cannabis Seeds   Bridgetown Botanicals Bridgetown Botanicals   PhytoExtractum Kratom Powder for Sale


Similar ThreadsPosterViewsRepliesLast post
* Discoverer of LSD Urges Medical Use of the Drug baraka 5,318 7 09/20/20 09:26 PM
by nektar61
* LSD doctor dies motamanM 5,152 4 02/22/04 12:03 PM
by motaman
* When Kids Overdose, Poison Control Centers Help AnnoA 1,474 5 07/15/04 10:38 AM
by gentledeadhead08
* Dutch gangs fuel LSD comeback motamanM 3,557 15 11/15/03 04:36 PM
by DailyPot
* Global Rise in Antidepressants, Other Mind-Altering Drugs Prescribed to Children AnnoA 894 0 11/18/04 01:33 AM
by Anno
* Ecstasy has dramatic effect on Parkinson's symptom Eightball 4,128 5 01/24/03 01:42 PM
by TeKn0
* The looming effects of shrooming motamanM 3,100 15 03/10/04 12:46 PM
by mjshroomer
* Judge delays sentencing in LSD case motamanM 3,629 10 10/25/03 10:16 PM
by Madtowntripper

Extra information
You cannot start new topics / You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled / BBCode is enabled
Moderator: motaman, veggie, Alan Rockefeller, Mostly_Harmless
340 topic views. 0 members, 2 guests and 1 web crawlers are browsing this forum.
[ Show Images Only | Sort by Score | Print Topic ]
Search this thread:

Copyright 1997-2024 Mind Media. Some rights reserved.

Generated in 0.02 seconds spending 0.004 seconds on 13 queries.