Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study.
This study found the only reliable difference from placebo was in people who knew they had taken the active dose, and no gain in creativity or cognition — what am I actually expecting microdosing to do for me?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Caveat on this rating: With 34 participants the study is underpowered to detect small true effects, and the authors' own Bayesian analysis in the successfully blinded subgroup was inconclusive rather than clearly negative.
The substances used for microdosing are federally illegal.
34 people beginning to microdose took 0.5 g of dried Psilocybe cubensis or placebo under double-blind conditions. Subjective effects were stronger on the active dose only among participants who correctly guessed which condition they were in, and EEG theta power dropped; on every other measure — wellbeing, creativity, cognition, perception — there was no benefit, with a few small changes in the direction of cognitive impairment.
Worth asking
This study found the only reliable difference from placebo was in people who knew they had taken the active dose, and no gain in creativity or cognition — what am I actually expecting microdosing to do for me?
Source
Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. — Cavanna F, Muller S, de la Fuente LA, et al. (2022)
Reputable peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-022-02039-0
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02039-0
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Reputable peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 34
- Preregistered
- No
- Conflicts disclosed
- Yes
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 78 out of 100 on our published rubric. One caveat travels with that badge: With 34 participants the study is underpowered to detect small true effects, and the authors' own Bayesian analysis in the successfully blinded subgroup was inconclusive rather than clearly negative. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. — Cavanna F, Muller S, de la Fuente LA, et al. (2022). Published in: Reputable peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02039-0. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is microdosing, microdose, lsd microdosing, psilocybin microdosing, sub-perceptual dosing FDA approved for this use?
No. Its current status is: Not FDA-evaluated for this use. The substances used for microdosing are federally illegal.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.