Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00023752%3A_____%2F18%3A43920781" target="_blank" >RIV/00023752:_____/18:43920781 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00213-018-5049-7" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00213-018-5049-7</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5049-7" target="_blank" >10.1007/s00213-018-5049-7</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting

Original language description

Introduction Taking microdoses (a mere fraction of normal doses) of psychedelic substances, such as truffles, recently gained popularity, as it allegedly has multiple beneficial effects including creativity and problem-solving performance, potentially through targeting serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors and promoting cognitive flexibility, crucial to creative thinking. Nevertheless, enhancing effects of microdosing remain anecdotal, and in the absence of quantitative research on microdosing psychedelics, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions on that matter. Here, our main aim was to quantitatively explore the cognitive-enhancing potential of microdosing psychedelics in healthy adults. Methods During a microdosing event organized by the Dutch Psychedelic Society, we examined the effects of psychedelic truffles (which were later analyzed to quantify active psychedelic alkaloids) on two creativity-related problem-solving tasks: the Picture Concept Task assessing convergent thinking and the Alternative Uses Task assessing divergent thinking. A short version of the Ravens Progressive Matrices task assessed potential changes in fluid intelligence. We tested once before taking a microdose and once while the effects were expected to be manifested. Results We found that both convergent and divergent thinking performance was improved after a non-blinded microdose, whereas fluid intelligence was unaffected. Conclusion While this study provides quantitative support for the cognitive-enhancing properties of microdosing psychedelics, future research has to confirm these preliminary findings in more rigorous placebo-controlled study designs. Based on these preliminary results, we speculate that psychedelics might affect cognitive metacontrol policies by optimizing the balance between cognitive persistence and flexibility. We hope this study will motivate future microdosing studies with more controlled designs to test this hypothesis.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30215 - Psychiatry

Project

<a href="/en/project/VI20172020056" target="_blank" >VI20172020056: New synthetics drugs - complex interdisciplinary research centre</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2018

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Psychopharmacology

ISSN

0033-3158

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

235

Issue of the periodical within the volume

12

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

13

Pages from-to

3401-3413

UT code for WoS article

000451058700004

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85055679656