Microdose.me is a 14,500+ participant study observing the effects of microdosing on cognitive performance and mental health. The study has been published in Nature Scientific Reports, one of the world’s most-read and cited academic journals. It can be accessed via this link.
This examination of a large international sample of adults highlights the prominence of therapeutic and wellness motivations for microdosing psychedelic drugs and identified lower levels of anxiety and depression among microdosers relative to controls. We have also identified a diversity of microdosing practices with substantial variations in dose, frequency and use of combinations of psychedelic and non-psychedelic substances (i.e., stacking). Future research is warranted to better determine the impact of these distinct practices—and of microdosing more broadly—on the aspects of cognition, mood, and well-being which microdosing is intended to enhance.
The paper was led by Joseph Rootman, Dr. Zach Walsh, Dr. Pamela Kryskow, Paul Stamets, Kalin Harvey, Eesmyal Santos-Brault, Dr. Kim Kuypers, Dr. Vince Polito, and Francoise Bourzat.
Microdose.me is conducted entirely on a mobile app, leveraging mobile technology to securely and rapidly collect anonymous clinical-grade health data.
Participants are still being accepted into the study. If you are interested in making an impact on psychedelic science whether you are microdosing or not, please download the Quantified Citizen app and sign up. This is the first step in a larger project of research exploring the effects of microdosing on mental health and cognitive performance, our second paper based on 12,000+ participants is also in the running for publication.
In addition to the authors of this paper, we would like to thank Microdose.me team members and advisors Sonia Brodie, Maggie Kiraga, Dr. Jim Fadiman, and the Beckley Foundation.
Finally, we would like to recognize all those who joined our study. Citizen scientists are speeding up scientific discoveries the world over, and if not for your collective desire to explore and make a difference, none of this would be possible.
.png)