Drug and Alcohol Review
February 26, 2026
Katherine M Keyes, Yvonne Terry-Mcelrath, Megan E. Patrick
INTRODUCTION: This paper aimed to determine the prevalence, demographic correlates and co-occurring substance use patterns of hallucinogen microdosing among young adults in the United States. METHODS: Design: Cross-sectional analysis of data from a nationally-representative cohort study collected in 2022-2023. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Sample of 3094 young adults aged 19-30 years in...
Research Square
February 23, 2026
Rotem Petranker, Norman A. S. Farb, Omer A. Syed et al.
Abstract IMPORTANCE Microdosing psilocybin may be a novel treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). OBJECTIVE Assessing the antidepressant effects and safety of repeated low doses of psilocybin in participants diagnosed with MDD. DESIGN This was a Phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING The trial was conducted from July 2022 to December 2024 at two...
Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
February 18, 2026
Dimitri Henriques Daldegan-Bueno, C Donegan, Rachael Sumner et al.
1 citation
Results suggest short-term improvements in mood following microdosed LSD in people with depression, warranting confirmation in controlled trials. It provides the pharmacokinetic parameters of 8 μg of LSD in a sample of people with depression and indicates no tolerance or sensitisation to repeated microdoses of LSD, despite incremental dose titration.
BJPsych Open
February 16, 2026
Zeina Beidas, Anya Ragnhildstveit, Adam Blackman et al.
1 citation
BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting roughly 322 million people. Recently, doses of psilocybin have shown promise in treating mood disorders, sparking interest in other dosing practices. According to anecdotal reports and observational studies, microdosing psilocybin yields benefits to mental health; however, rigorously controlled...
Deviant Behavior
February 9, 2026
Blake Beaton
2 citations
Microdosing is a novel approach to the consumption of classic psychedelic substances, such as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin that emerged in recent years. Unlike traditional illicit substance use, which often seeks euphoric experiences, microdosing deliberately avoids such effects in pursuit of self-enhancement. This practice has grown in popularity likely due to the perceived...
Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy
February 4, 2026
Shreya Shiju, Rohan Tirumala, Elliot Marseille
Background: As public and scientific interest in psychedelics grows, unsupervised use for health purposes is increasing. In the U.S., past-year hallucinogen use nearly doubled from 2015 to 2023. Many individuals report self-treating physical or psychological symptoms without medical supervision using psychedelics—a practice termed self-medication. Despite this trend, review-level syntheses...
European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
February 1, 2026
Isabel Werle, Francisco S Guimarães, Rafael G. Dos Santos et al.
Rodent studies have shown that psychedelic drugs can enhance fear extinction. However, investigations to date have relied on normative aversive conditioning procedures, which limit their relevance to trauma-related memories, as these tend to be overgeneralized and resistant to extinction. Fear extinction depends on activity and plasticity within the infralimbic (IL) region of the medial...
Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society
February 1, 2026
Katarzyna Kała, Dorota Bederska‐łojewska, Jan Lazur et al.
The growing percentage of people suffering from drug-resistant depression increases interest in alternative therapies, particularly the usage of psychedelics such as psilocybin. The main source of psilocybin is the Psilocybe cubensis species. Due to the potential therapeutic benefits of psilocybin and the legal restrictions on its possession and use in the form of fungal fruiting bodies, this...