German Institute for Addiction and Prevention Research, Catholic University of Applied Sciences , Cologne, Germany.
Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW Sydney , Sydney, Australia.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2020 Apr-Jun;52(2):101-112. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2019.1683260. Epub 2019 Oct 24.
Self-administration of very low doses of psychedelic drugs to improve mental health and wellbeing and enhance cognitive function, known as microdosing, has received recent media attention, but little research has been conducted. We conducted a content analysis of discussions about microdosing from the online forum Reddit. We examined motivations, dosing practices, and perceived benefits and limitations of microdosing. Motivations included self-management of mental health issues, improvement of psychosocial wellbeing, and cognitive enhancement. Self-reported benefits included cognitive and creative enhancement, reduced depression and anxiety, enhanced self-insight and mindfulness, improved mood and attitude toward life, improved habits and health behaviors, and improved social interactions and interpersonal connections. Perceived limitations included issues related to dosing, adverse physical effects, taking illegal substances, limited or no mental health or cognitive improvement, increased anxiety, unpleasant "off" days, only short-term benefits, and concerns about dependence and drug-related risks. Standard doses of psychedelic drugs provided in therapeutic settings have potential as novel treatments for some mental health conditions, but clinical research is needed to understand if this is also the case for microdosing. In the meantime, harm reduction resources should be developed and made available to provide the best available information on the safer use of self-administered psychedelics.
自我服用极低剂量的致幻药物以改善心理健康和幸福感并增强认知功能，即所谓的微量给药，最近受到了媒体的关注，但相关研究甚少。我们对在线论坛 Reddit 上关于微量给药的讨论进行了内容分析。我们研究了微量给药的动机、剂量方案以及感知到的益处和局限性。动机包括自我管理心理健康问题、改善心理社会幸福感和认知增强。自我报告的益处包括认知和创造力增强、抑郁和焦虑减轻、自我洞察力和正念增强、情绪和生活态度改善、习惯和健康行为改善、以及社交互动和人际关系改善。感知到的局限性包括与剂量相关的问题、不良的身体影响、服用非法物质、有限或没有心理健康或认知改善、焦虑增加、不愉快的“停药”期、只有短期益处以及对依赖和药物相关风险的担忧。在治疗环境中使用标准剂量的致幻药物有可能成为某些心理健康状况的新型治疗方法，但需要开展临床研究以了解微量给药是否也是如此。在此期间，应开发和提供减少危害资源，为自我给药致幻剂的更安全使用提供最佳可用信息。
