Effects of psychedelic microdosing versus conventional ADHD medication use on emotion regulation, empathy, and ADHD symptoms in adults with severe ADHD symptoms: A naturalistic prospective comparison study

Summary & key facts

Researchers followed adults with severe ADHD symptoms who either started microdosing psychedelics on their own or were using conventional ADHD medicine. Over four weeks, people who microdosed reported some improvements in how they managed emotions and in ADHD symptoms, but the evidence that microdosing helped empathy was weak. The studies were naturalistic and had many dropouts, so the results are interesting but not proof that microdosing causes these changes.

Key facts:

• The researchers ran two online studies that checked people at the start, after two weeks, and after four weeks to see if feelings and ADHD symptoms changed over time.
• In the first study, about 230 people who began microdosing on their own showed better emotion regulation after starting. This included stronger use of 'cognitive reappraisal,' which means changing how you think about a situation, and change
• The second study compared about 180 people who only microdosed with about 40 people using conventional ADHD medication. After four weeks, the microdosing group had lower self-reported ADHD symptoms than the medication group.
• When a control group was included in the comparison, most of the earlier improvements did not hold up. Only the change in expressive suppression (how people manage showing emotions) remained clearly different, which weakens the evidence tha
• These studies were naturalistic, meaning people chose to start microdosing themselves and the researchers just observed them. Many people stopped responding over time — the number of participants fell from hundreds at the start to only a fe
• In plain terms: some people with severe ADHD who tried microdosing reported feeling better able to handle emotions and had fewer ADHD symptoms after a month, but the studies have limits and do not give strong proof that microdosing improves

Abstract

Adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often struggle with emotion regulation (ER), impacting their empathic skills and relationships. ADHD medication might not be as effective for ER issues as for ADHD symptoms. Microdosing (MD) psychedelics has shown promise for ADHD treatment and previous studies reported social-emotional benefits. Two online prospective studies investigated MD effects on ER and empathy in adults with severe ADHD symptoms across three assessments: baseline, two-, and four-week post-initiation. Study 1 examined adults initiating MD on their own (n = 233, n = 64, and n = 44) and found positive effects on ER (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and aspects of empathy (perspective-taking and personal distress). Study 2, including a control group and an ADHD symptom scale, compared individuals only MD (n = 180, n = 50, and n = 38) to individuals using conventional ADHD medication (n = 37, n = 27, and n = 28). After 4 weeks, ADHD symptoms were lower in the MD group. Only improvements in expressive suppression persisted after adding the control group. This study indicates the positive effects of MD psychedelics on ADHD symptoms and ER in adults with severe ADHD symptoms while lacking evidence for effects on empathy.

Topics

Chemical synthesis and alkaloids Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior Psychedelics and Drug Studies

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Clinical psychology Empathy Psychiatry Psychology

Substances

Other

Conditions & symptoms

ADHD Difficulty focusing Feeling disconnected from others