Effects of psilocybin microdosing on awe and aesthetic experiences: a preregistered field and lab-based study

This double-blind placebo-controlled study (n=30) found that microdosing psychedelics (psilocybin; 1.5mg; 5-7 doses) increased awe but not aesthetic experiences (e.g. viewing art). Many participants knew which group (receiving placebo or psilocybin in which timeframe) they were in (‘breaking blind’), and the researcher presume that expectancy effects may explain the effects found.

Abstract

“There is an increasing societal trend to engage in microdosing, in which small sub-hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelics are consumed on a regular basis. Following subjective reports that microdosing enhances the experience of nature and art, in the present study, we set out to study the effects of psilocybin microdosing on feelings of awe and art perception. In this preregistered combined field- and lab-based study, participants took part in a microdosing workshop, after which they volunteered to self-administer a psilocybin microdose or a placebo for three consecutive weeks while the condition was kept blind to the participants and researchers. Following a 2-week break, the condition assignment was reversed. During each block, participants visited the lab twice to measure the effects of psilocybin microdosing vs placebo. We used standardized measures of awe, in which participants reported their experiences in response to short videos or when viewing abstract artworks from different painters. Our confirmatory analyses showed that participants felt more awe in response to videos representing funny animals and moving objects in the microdosing compared to the placebo condition. However, about two-thirds of our participants were breaking blind to their experimental condition. Our exploratory findings suggest that expectancy-effects may be a driving factor underlying the subjective benefits of microdosing.“

Authors: Michiel van Elk, George Fejer, Pascal Lempe, Luisa Prochazckova, Martin Kuchar, Katerina Hajkova & Josephine Marschall

Notes

A group of 30 people completed a study on microdosing and perceptions of awe. The participants were given capsules with 0.7g dried truffles (magic mushrooms) that contained 1.5mg of psilocybin. Over the course of three weeks, the participants microdosed and were presented with a few different tests to measure awe whilst microdosing. During the second block of three weeks, they were given a placebo (or the other way around) and tested again.

Anecdotal evidence points towards many benefits of microdosing psychedelics. Yet controlled studies have trouble finding solid effects of microdosing that can’t be attributed to expectation effects. The current study looked specifically at measures of awe (for more on awe see Hendricks, 2018), “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.”

Did they find something?

• Participants scored higher on a rating of awe when presented with awe-inspiring videos
• But there was no difference between aesthetic feelings when looking at a variety of paintings
• And, unfortunately for proponents of microdosing, the data showed that two-thirds of the participants guessed correctly which condition they were in (when they received a placebo or microdose)

This study, again, shows that when people are microdosing, there are positive effects. In this particular study, ratings of awe were higher (of videos, not paintings). But the study also shows that the expectation of positive effects could be the explaining factor.

Summary

In this study, participants self-administered psilocybin microdoses or a placebo for three consecutive weeks, while the condition was kept blind to the participants and researchers. They reported feeling more awe in response to funny animals and moving objects in the microdosing condition compared to the placebo condition.

Introduction

Serotonergic hallucinogens, such as LSD and psilocybin, are becoming increasingly popular as recreational drugs. There is also increased interest in scientific research on hallucinogens, such as the use of psychedelics in the treatment of depression, substance abuse, and cancer-related anxiety disorders.

Microdosing of LSD or psilocybin is a recent hype among young professionals and high potentials working in the tech industry. However, there are currently no scientifically informed guidelines or best practices surrounding the use of microdosing.

Microdosing has been found to positively affect mood, creativity, cognition, and anxiety, while reducing depression and stress. It has also been found to increase the tendency to become absorbed in external stimuli and also induce an increase in the personality trait of neuroticism.

Experimental research on microdosing of psilocybin and ketamine in rats has shown that they did not induce clear anxiolytic effects. However, chronic microdosing with DMT did have antidepressant-like effects in rats. In placebo-controlled studies, LSD microdosing dilates time-perception, decreases positivity ratings of images with positive content, increases functional connectivity between the amygdala and the middle-frontal gyrus, and affects a wide range of variables, including sustained attention, speed of information processing, mood states, anxiety, and confusion.

The lack of a clear and consistent effect of microdosing psychedelics on subjective and objective performance might be related to differences in the methodology that was used, as well as the ecological validity of the dependent cognitive measures.

Awe is a complex emotion that is typically evoked by perceptually vast stimuli such as landscapes, vistas, and mountains. It has been suggested that the therapeutic potential of psychedelics relies on its awe-inducing properties.

Researchers have found preliminary evidence that the personality trait of absorption predicts responsiveness to psychedelics and feelings of awe in response to natural scenes. A decrease in the activity of the default mode network (DMN) has been found to be associated with feelings of awe in response to vast natural scenes, and a similar decrease has been found in association with the acute effects of LSD and psilocybin on resting state network activity.

Microdosing psilocybin increases the enjoyment of the arts and museum visits, and increases activation of the DMN, which likely reflects that participants relate the observed artworks to themselves during aesthetic judgments.

In order to study the effects of psilocybin microdosing on art perception, we set up a field- and lab-based study in which participants self-administered psilocybin or a placebo for 3 weeks, followed by a 2-week break. We conducted several studies to assess the effects of psilocybin microdosing on different cognitive and behavioral measures, including awe and art perception. The results from the other studies will be reported elsewhere.

We used videos representing vast natural scenes, funny animals, and boring landscapes to manipulate feelings of awe. We also measured participants’ implicit perception of their body size to investigate whether psilocybin microdosing affects feelings of awe.

Hypotheses

Feelings of awe will be higher and body size estimates smaller for Awe videos compared to Positive and Control videos. Microdosing will also increase feelings of awe and body size estimates smaller for Awe videos compared to the placebo condition.

The effect of Condition on Block Order is expected to be stronger in the first half of all testing sessions.

In an additional analysis, we will include the Tellegen absorption scale as a covariate. High absorption participants should report more positive emotions in response to artworks.

Deviations from pre‑registration

We included block order in the statistical design, but the stimuli were not fully counterbalanced, so the results need to be interpreted with caution.

Participants

Participants were asked to provide written informed consent to participate in the study, and were required to self-administer the dose 1.5 h prior to the lab session, to remain blind to their condition, and to refrain from using other psychoactive substances and medications during the study.

In total 75 participants started out with our study, 20 dropped out during the first testing block, 15 did not comply with the behavioral guidelines, and 10 participants could not be included in the final analysis. Thirteen participants started out with the psilocybin first condition, and 17 participants started out with the placebo first condition.

Microdosing workshop and ethical approval

Participants were recruited through a bi-yearly “Microdosing Information Workshop” organized by the Psychedelic Society of the Netherlands (PSN). They were given placebo samples at the event so that they could engage in self-blinding and were kept anonymous from the researchers.

Study design

All participants completed a survey, the Tellegen absorption scale, and were informed about best microdosing practices, as well as the study setup and design.

During the subsequent 3 weeks participants took 5 – 7 microdoses of psilocybin, which corresponded approximately to 1.5 mg of psilocybin. They visited the University of Amsterdam twice to measure the effects of microdosing, and were allowed to go home by themselves after the lab session.

Participants took 5 – 7 microdoses of psilocybin or placebo for 3 weeks, followed by a 2-week break. They visited our lab twice to measure the effects of the microdose, and completed a survey to indicate their expectations of microdosing for the subsequent block of 3 weeks.

This trial was a collaborative effort among several researchers, and included several different experimental paradigms. The findings regarding these different tasks will be reported elsewhere.

Feelings of awe

We measured participants’ feelings of awe during 4 consecutive lab-based testing sessions, in which they either took a psilocybin microdose or a placebo. We found that participants underestimated their body size when watching awe videos when in the psilocybin microdosing condition.

8 awe videos, 8 positive videos, and 8 control videos were presented, and participants saw each video once. Due to a programming error, the different types of videos were not correctly counterbalanced over the different sessions.

Art perception

Participants’ aesthetic responses to abstract artworks were measured in 4 consecutive testing sessions, in which they took an acute microdose of psilocybin or a placebo.

Statistical analysis

We used a repeated measures ANOVA to compare the effects of psilocybin on body size perception, positive emotions, and negative emotions, and then used 4 omnibus ANOVAs to compare the effects of psilocybin on emotions.

Participants were required to indicate the perceived profoundness of an artwork and the positive and negative emotions elicited by the artwork. The results were combined in a positive and a negative experience score.

Drugs and chemicals

In our study, participants took 0.7 g of dried psilocybin-containing truffles, which were analyzed by MK and KH. The amount of psilocybin in the truffles remained stable over time, and participants could best store their capsules in the fridge. Although there is no accepted scientific definition of a microdose, 0.7 g of dried psilocybin mushrooms is often considered to be at the high end of the spectrum and may cause participants to break blind regarding their condition assignment.

Effects of psilocybin on feelings of awe

In line with our preregistered H1awe, H2awe, and H3awe, we found a main effect of Video, a main effect of Condition, and a marginally interaction between Condition and Session. However, this effect did not survive correction for multiple comparisons.

We found an interaction between block order, condition, and video, as well as an interaction between block order, condition, and session. Psilocybin microdosing affected feelings of awe only in the first session of the first block.

To test H5awe, we included absorption as a covariate. High absorption participants overall reported stronger feelings of awe, but absorption did not interact with condition.

Effects of psilocybin on body size estimation

In line with our hypotheses, awe videos did not result in smaller body size estimates, and psilocybin microdosing did not decrease body size estimates. However, there was a significant interaction between Video, Condition, and Block Order, although the post-hoc tests were not significant.

Effects of psilocybin on positive aesthetic experiences

Positive aesthetic experiences were not affected by psilocybin microdosing, condition, session or block order, and absorption did not affect positive aesthetic experiences. Participants felt strongest positive feelings in response to paintings by Kandinsky and least strong feelings in response to works by de Kooning.

Effects of psilocybin on negative aesthetic experiences

The descriptives for negative aesthetic experiences in the different experimental conditions are presented in Table 5. High absorption participants experienced more negative aesthetic emotions in response to artworks.

Drug identifications

Participants were breaking blind, i.e., 20 out of 30 correctly guessed their condition following the first block, and 23 out of 30 correctly guessed their condition following the second block.

Effect of expectations

In order to investigate how prior expectations affected the effects of psilocybin microdosing on feelings of awe, we included expectations as a covariate in the analysis. This rendered the effect of Condition non-significant and revealed that participants with stronger expectations experienced more profound feelings of awe.

In a post-hoc analysis, participants’ expectations regarding microdosing were analyzed. They expected to experience increased flow and creativity, and lower expectations regarding the effects on fear, sleep, and addiction.

Discussion

In this study, we found that psilocybin microdosing increased feelings of awe in response to positive and neutral control videos. This effect was most pronounced in the first compared to the second session.

Most participants broke blind and correctly guessed their condition, even though the dosages were low. This could be solved by using even lower levels of psilocybin microdoses or by including an active placebo condition, such as niacin. The breaking blind problem may partially explain the effects of microdosing on feelings of awe. Alternatively, participants may have misattributed arousal, because the awe questions used were generic and may have captured both valence and arousal of the emotion.

We found that absorption is a personality trait that is positively related to feelings of awe and to art perception. High absorption participants reported stronger feelings of awe and both more positive and negative aesthetic emotions in response to the artworks.

Participants’ expectations regarding microdosing were high, likely due to the microdosing workshop, and participants reported feeling awe in response to videos that were not very conducive in and of themselves.

Constraints on generality

This study used items that may have high face validity, but did not provide a full psychometric validation of the items. It is recommended that future studies use well-validated measures and instruments to measure feelings of awe.

This study had a strong selection bias, as participants voluntarily participated without any financial remuneration, and a high attrition rate. Some participants became disappointed or frustrated with the effects of psilocybin microdosing, or simply because our testing schedule was quite intense.

In our study, participants experienced expectancy-effects and the workshop was set up in a specific setting. This may have boosted participants’ responses to the psilocybin microdosing, but the effects were small or even non-existent.

Conclusions

Psilocybin microdosing enhanced feelings of awe in response to videos of funny animals and moving objects, though the effects were likely driven by participants’ prior expectations and participants were breaking blind.

Appendix. Microdosing expectations questionnaire

Microdosing can improve many things, including your mood, your focus, your attention, your memory, your problem solving skills, your creativity, your fear/phobias, your sleep, your perception, your connection to others, and your spirituality.