New Study Shows Mood and Mental Health Are Improved by Microdosing Psilocybin
A new study has observed significant mood and mental health benefits after one month of microdosing psilocybin mushrooms. Mushroom microdosers have seen greatest improvements in the DASS areas of trough , anxiety et stress . The study says they found no difference in these results between genders, but found that cognitive efficacy of microdose was more effective in people aged less than 55 years.
THEsurvey Publiée dance Nature : Scientific Reports entitled " Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls“, analyzed 1133 subjects between November 2019 and May 2021. All subjects were over 18 years old, able to read in English and had access to an iPhone iOS device where participants recorded their results. A baseline assessment was performed at the start of the study and again between 22 and 35 days later.
The researchers analyzed the results of microdosing psilocybin combined with either lion's mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus, or abbreviated HE) or niacin (vitamin B3), to identify "improvements in mood and small-to-medium magnitude mental health that were generally consistent across gender, age, and presence of mental health problems… psychomotor performance improvements specific to older adults. The study calls these combinations "cumulative."
The study abstract notes that combining psilocybin with HE or B3 "did not impact changes in mood and mental health."
The research was authored by many authors, including Paul Stamets, as well as Joseph M. Rootman of the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. According to an interview with Forbes, Joseph M. Rootman is certain that the work currently being carried out will make it possible to make other revelations in the future. "This study is an extension of our previous manuscript published in the same journal, and we have other publications in the works that are based on this same study," Rootman said. “Our team also worked hard to develop the next version of the study which will be used to generate results related to the psychedelic microdosing for the coming years. »
Rootman also clarified that the study did not require just one type of mushroom variety. Rather, the researchers simply observed the experiences recorded by the patients, which varied between low, medium, or high amounts of microdosed mushrooms (0,1 grams, 0,1-0,3 grams or more than 0,3 grams, respectively). "We found that approximately 10% of our microdosing sample in this study reported high dosages, 72,6% medium dosages, and 16,8% low dosages," Rootman added.
The description of the study shares the collective belief of the authors that this is one of the first studies of its kind, but that it needs more research in order to establish a basis to show how psilocybin can benefit to human participants. "Further research with control groups and large sample sizes to examine potential moderators such as mental health status, age, and gender is needed to better appreciate the health consequences of this emerging phenomenon." , the authors concluded. “In the present study, we aim to extend this literature by examining prospective changes associated with microdosing psilocybin compared to a non-microdosing control group in the areas of mental health, mood, and cognitive and psychomotor functioning. To our knowledge, this is the largest prospective study of psilocybin microdosing to date, the first to distinguish between microdosing mixtures (i.e. stacking), and one of the few prospective studies to systematically disaggregate analyzes by age and mental health conditions. »
Gradually, more and more evidence is being gathered in studies such as this one. However, they are not yet enough to convince those who oppose the use of psilocybin for medical purposes. In late June, Linn County, Oregon, announced approval of a voter initiative to ban psilocybin therapies and treatment centers (even though the rest of the state will adopt the psilocybin program). voter-approved psilocybin therapy, due to begin in 2023).
At the beginning of last month, a study done in South Africa revealed that psilocybin can help women with HIV causing depressive states. Another study in April also found that psilocybin may be useful as a treatment for depression. In May, activists from the Right to Try organization recently demonstrated outside the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Virginia to draw attention to patients who may be using psilocybin to improve their quality of life.
