Repeated microdoses of LSD do not alter anxiety or boldness in zebrafish.
Ethan V Hagen, Melike Schalomon, Yanbo Zhang, Trevor J Hamilton
Scientific Reports February 22, 2024 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54676-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Zebrafish (Danio rerio) |
| Intervention | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) |
| Dose | 1.5 µg/L, 15 µg/L, 150 µg/L |
| Duration | Acute and repeated 10-day exposure with seven-day withdrawal |
| Topics | Microdosing Anxiety LSD |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Behavioral neuroscience Animal research Pharmacology |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key findings | Acute LSD exposure at 1.5, 15, and 150 µg/L reduced high mobility and velocity in zebrafish, but repeated 10-day treatment and withdrawal produced no significant behavioral differences from controls. |
Abstract
The therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has resurfaced in the last decade, prompting further scientific investigation into its effectiveness in many animal models. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a popular model organism in medical sciences and are used to examine the repeated administration of pharmacological compounds. Previous zebrafish research found acute LSD altered behaviour and cortisol levels at high (250 µg/L) but not low (5-100 µg/L) levels. In this study, we used a motion tracking system to record and analyze the movement patterns of zebrafish after acute and repeated 10-day LSD exposure (1.5 µg/L, 15 µg/L, 150 µg/L) and after seven days of withdrawal. The open-field and novel object approach tests were used to examine anxiety-like behaviour, boldness, and locomotion. In the acute experiments we observed a significant decrease in high mobility with 1.5 µg/L, 15 µg/L, and 150 µg/L of LSD compared to the control and a decrease in velocity with 1.5 and 15 µg/L. In repeated experiments, there were no significant differences in the levels of anxiety, boldness, or locomotion between all LSD groups and controls immediately after 10-day treatment or after withdrawal.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on LSD and microdosing, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessing the Potential Cardiovascular Risk of Microdosing the Psychedelic LSD in Mice Mice | 2025 | Animal study | |
| A New Use for an Old Compound: Microdosing LSD to Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms Male and female mice with fibromyalgia-like symptoms | 2026 | Preclinical animal study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Neurobiology of psilocybin: a comprehensive overview and comparative analysis of experimental models Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience August 5, 2025
- The effect of psychedelic microdosing on animal behavior: A review with recommendations for the field Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews May 9, 2025
- Short- and Long-Acting Psychedelics: Structure-Activity Relationships, Pharmacology, and Implications for Neuropsychiatric Therapeutics. ACS Chemical Neuroscience June 17, 2026
- Single exposure to Ayahuasca reverses chronic stress effects on sociability, anxiety, cortisol, and BDNF in zebrafish Psychopharmacology April 14, 2026
- Psychedelic-induced behavioral and developmental effects on zebrafish: a systematic review. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry October 20, 2025
Cites 17
- The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics November 11, 2008
- Serotonin research: contributions to understanding psychoses TIPS - Trends in Pharmacological Sciences August 1, 2008
- Classical psychedelics for the treatment of depression and anxiety: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders November 1, 2019
- LSD alters dynamic integration and segregation in the human brain. Neuroimage February 15, 2021
- Acute Subjective and Behavioral Effects of Microdoses of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in Healthy Human Volunteers Biological Psychiatry June 3, 2019
and 12 more in the library