A new study has found that microdosing on LSD may increase reward-related activity in the human brain. Microdosing involves ingesting small doses of a psychedelic such as LSD on a regular basis. The practice has increased in popularity these past few years, with many viewing it as a way to improve creativity, productivity and psychological well-being. However, there is scant scientific evidence supporting the practice’s benefits.
The researchers’ objective was to find out whether LSD could change the signature response of the brain to a rewarding stimulus when it was administered in low doses. The study was led by Professor Harriet de Wit of the University of Chicago.
For their study, the researchers recruited 18 healthy young adults who each took part in five-hour lab sessions that were held on three separate occasions and seven days apart. During each session, the researchers randomly administered a placebo or 13 or 26 micrograms of LSD to every participant. Roughly two hours after the dosing, each participant was tasked with completing a monetary incentive task.
The researchers used an EEG to record every participant’s brain activity while they were concluding the assigned tasks, then awarded negative or positive feedback to each, based on how they performed. The focus of the researchers was centered on the following patterns of electrical brain activity: reward-positivity, late-positive potential and feedback-P3. Reward-positivity is a component that reflects a response to rewards while late-positive potential occurs after an individual learns about an outcome. On the other hand, feedback-P3 occurs after an individual receives feedback about their performance.
The researchers discovered that both LSD doses increased the amplitude of feedback-P3 in comparison to the placebo administered. They also observed that only 13 micrograms of the drug increased the amplitudes of late-positive potential and reward-positivity, particularly when participants were offered a possible reward.
In addition to this, the researchers highlighted that they observed that LSD’s effects didn’t correlate with the dosage administered, explaining that some effects observed were greater in lower doses. This, they noted, suggested that the drug’s pharmacology was rather complex. In their report, the researchers stated that they determined that LSD microdoses could increase the response an individual’s brain had to a rewarding stimulus. They added, however, that more studies were needed to determine whether microdosing did have positive benefits.
The researchers reported their findings in the “Neuropsychopharmacology” journal. Other researchers involved included Royce Lee, Robin Nusslock, Conor H. Murray and James Glazer.
A number of for-profit entities such as Mind Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: MNMD) (NEO: MMED) (DE: MMQ) are studying a variety of psychedelic compounds with a focus on getting their formulations approved by the FDA. These insights on LSD’s effects add momentum to this medicalization push.
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