Salience, sensemaking, and setting in psilocybin microdosing: Methodological lessons and preliminary findings of a mixed method qualitative study
Aleš Oblak, Liam Korošec Hudnik, Anja Levačić, Kristian Elersič, Peter Pregelj, Jurij Bon
Philosophical Psychology September 26, 2024 DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2024.2393690 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study with ecological momentary assessment and retrospective interviews Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants who underwent psilocybin microdosing on their own and consented to monitoring for harm mitigation |
| Intervention | Psilocybin microdosing |
| Topics | Microdosing Psilocybin |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin microdosing was associated with loosening of mental structures, increased salience of external stimuli, increased flexible cognition, decreased stable cognition, and ego-dystonic contents, with environmental structure influencing appraisal. |
Abstract
There are profound methodological challenges facing microdosing research. One way we can address some of these methodological issues is by understanding how psilocybin microdosing fits in the broader existential context of people’s lives. We recruited participants who underwent psilocybin microdosing on their own and consented to being monitored for harm mitigation purposes. We combined momentary ecological assessment and detailed retrospective interviews. Participants reported loosening of mental structures (i.e., less intense strength of thoughts, tangential stream of consciousness), increased salience of external stimuli (varyingly associated with greater interest in otherwise mundane activities, as well as sensory overload), an increase in flexible cognition, a decrease in stable cognition, and various ego-dystonic contents. Highly structured environments were conducive to positive appraisal of experiences and vice versa. Momentary ecological assessment and retrospective interviews yielded differing accounts of microdosing experience. We relate our findings to stable and flexible cognition, as well as the notion of salience. We point out the necessity for systematic mixed methods studies to better characterize the lived experience of taking low doses of psilocybin.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on psilocybin and microdosing, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelic microdosing benefits and challenges: an empirical codebook Active microdosing community | 2019 | Mixed-methods study | |
| Experiences of microdosing psychedelics in an attempt to support wellbeing and mental health. People who microdose psychedelic drugs | 2023 | Qualitative study | n = 13 |
| “It Fueled the Fire to Who I Am Now”: Exploring Motivations for Microdosing Psychedelics Individuals who actively microdose psychedelics | 2025 | Qualitative study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- The role of self-transcendent emotions in psychedelic experiences: a two-process proposal Philosophical Psychology July 7, 2025
- Psilocybin, From Ancestral Use to Therapeutic Potential: A Multidimensional Review of Its Pharmacological Basis and Current Perspectives Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental September 1, 2026
Cites 34
- Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 2003
- Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin. Scientific Reports February 10, 2020
- Psilocybin-Induced Deficits in Automatic and Controlled Inhibition are Attenuated by Ketanserin in Healthy Human Volunteers Neuropsychopharmacology September 28, 2011
- The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin Molecules May 15, 2021
- Using Psilocybin to Investigate the Relationship between Attention, Working Memory, and the Serotonin 1A and 2A Receptors Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience October 1, 2005
and 29 more in the library