A cup of coffee for depression treatment has better results than microdosing

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/01/placebo-outperforms-lsd-microdosing-for-depression/

A Phase 2B trial of 89 adult patients conducted by Melbourne-based MindBio Therapeutics, investigating the effects of microdosing LSD in the treatment of major depressive disorder, found that the psychedelic was actually outperformed by a placebo. Across an eight-week period, symptoms were gauged using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), a widely recognized tool for the clinical evaluation of depression.

The study has not yet been published. But MindBio’s CEO Justin Hanka recently released the top-line results on his LinkedIn, eager to show that his company was “in front of the curve in microdosing research.”

129 points · 27 comments · view on lemmy.world

27 Comments

rockSlayer@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 26 pts · 207d (7 replies)

Most people talking about microdosing are referring to shrooms (psilocybin), not LSD though

Bademantel@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 207d (4 replies)

Really? I associate it with LSD. Isn't it more difficult with mushrooms as psilocybin concentration fluctuates? I guess you could extract it. Never really thought about it.

nullroot@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 207d

Grind it up and put it in pills. The resulting pills will have approximately the same doses

Beacon@fedia.io · 5 pts · 207d (2 replies)

The fluctuation doesn't make enough difference to switch between a microdose to a macrodose. But don't depend on the shake scraps at the bottom of the bag, because that stuff actually can vary wildly

bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 207d (1 reply)

Ime the shroom powder is what can kick your ass the most

JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 206d

I have accidentally BOOMED on the space dust at the bottom of the bag

kabe@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 207d

Microdosing really just refers to taking sub-perceptual amounts of a given substance. It equally applies to things like THC and LSD as it does to shrooms.

Beacon@fedia.io · 3 pts · 207d

Yeah microdosing LSD seems crazy to me because it lasts so much longer than shrooms. When I've heard of microdosing it's usually been referring to shrooms

quips@slrpnk.net · 24 pts · 207d (2 replies)

Title is horrible. One study shows these benefits. Do not make empiric claims like that.

adhd_traco@piefed.social · 5 pts · 207d (1 reply)

Usually places don't like editorialized titles, but here I really would just like to add [sensational title] or something at the end.

Calfpupa@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 206d

Do it

TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com · 18 pts · 207d (1 reply)

I'd have to think that this report is looked unfavorably upon by the machine elves.

PennyRoyal@sh.itjust.works · 19 pts · 207d

Maybe they should try macrodosing

escapeVelocity@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 207d

Fuckoff, I'll keep doing my own microdosing research.

For science OFC.

sundray@lemmus.org · 8 pts · 207d (1 reply)

I like a nice placebo now and again, though.

eleijeep@piefed.social · 3 pts · 207d

Alcoholic kind of mood
Lose my clothes, lose my lube
Cruising for a piece of fun
Looking out for number one
Different partner every night
So narcotic outta sight
What a gas, what a beautiful ass

And it all breaks down at the role reversal
Got the muse in my head she's universal
Spinnin' me round she's coming over me
And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal
Got the muse in my head she's universal
Spinnin' me round she's coming over me

blitzen@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 207d (2 replies)

Isn’t a cup of coffee just microdosing with caffeine?

HexadecimalSky@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 207d

and if its like how me and my friends make our coffee....more sugar than coffee. A mug of sugar keeps the depression away?

i_love_FFT@jlai.lu · 3 pts · 206d

Yeah, coffee is definitely not a placebo

Unleaded8163@fedia.io · 5 pts · 207d (1 reply)

Why not both?

escapeVelocity@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 207d

I used to our a bit of shrooms in my coffee. It's actually tasting ok.

webghost0101@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 207d (1 reply)

I somewhat assume you need a macro dose first. Your body needs to understand what the chemicals do.

Then when you microdose your body recognizes the chemicals and refreshed your subconscious memories about the state of mind.

Id love to see some science about microdosing in general, not just with psychedelics.

quips@slrpnk.net · 11 pts · 207d

In my anecdotal experience, when I’ve done shrooms the depression benefits feel like they came not so much from the chemical itself but from the mindset it puts you in. That perspective, combined with the plastic state shrooms put you in has felt the most useful.

It allows you to reevaluate your life and gain perspective on it, while that plasticity actually lets those things stick.

When you microdose sure you might see some of those benefits, but you don’t really enter that altered state of mind where, imo, the real benefits come from.

This is why I think therapy guided sessions are likely the future of psychedelic treatment for mental illnesses like depression.

MehBlah@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 206d (3 replies)

Tomorrows headline "Microdosing better than a cup of coffee for depression."

_stranger_@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 206d (2 replies)

RFK later that day: "We're outlawing depression. The CEO of Starbucks will be our new Smile Enforcement Czar. Coffee is now mandatory."

MehBlah@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 206d (1 reply)

He really is a zero master. Whatever decision he makes regarding any subject is surely the wrong answer.

_stranger_@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 206d

almost like it's his job, which is insane either way.