Potential safety, benefits, and influence of the placebo effect in microdosing psychedelic drugs: A systematic review

Abstract

Microdosing psychedelic drugs-that is, taking sub-behavioral doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin-is a growing practice in Western societies. Taken mainly for creative or mood-enhancing purposes, thousands of users are increasingly being exposed to (micro)doses of psychedelic drugs. In this systematic review, we searched the available evidence from human studies, focusing our results in terms of three main axes: efficacy, safety, and the influence of the placebo effect in microdosing practices. While the available evidence has some strengths (e.g. large sample sizes, robust methodologies) there are also remarkable limitations (e.g. gender bias, heterogeneity of dosing schedules and drugs used). Highly contradictory results have been found, showing both the benefits and detriments of microdosing in terms of mood, creative processes, and energy, among other regards. This review provides a general overview of the methods and approaches used, which could be useful for improving future studies.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Psilocybin and microdosing ↕Mixed

  Reports highly contradictory results showing both benefits and detriments of microdosing for mood, creative processes, and energy, with limitations including gender bias and heterogeneous dosing.

  Synthesized October 22, 2026

Comparable studies

Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on psilocybin and microdosing, most cited first.