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

submitted by

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.”

32
49
1

Log in to comment

Hot Top New Old

What about a pot of coffee with a sheet of LSD mixed into it? Surely the therapeutic effects must work wonders

 reply
10

A cup of LSD and depression is not a problem anymore.

 reply
4

On LinkedIn. Did they also go on a bizarre rant?

Why would you publish results to a site that nobody can see unless they want all their data mined by microsoft? Fuck LinkedIn.

 reply
5

Microdosing *what? Stupid headline making me click to see the comments.

 reply
3
edited

Stimulants in proper doses seem to be able to help with depression. Some studies show adderall can help depression too.

 reply
2

Comments in science@lemmy.world

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

 reply
24
OP

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

 reply
6

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

 reply
19

Maybe they should try macrodosing

 reply
19

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

For science OFC.

 reply
10

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

 reply
26

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.

 reply
17

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

 reply
6
edited

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

 reply
4

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

 reply
3

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

 reply
2

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.

 reply
12
edited

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

 reply
2

I like a nice placebo now and again, though.

 reply
8

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

 reply
3

Why not both?

 reply
5

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

 reply
3

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

 reply
4
edited

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

 reply
1

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

 reply
1

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

 reply
1
edited

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

 reply
5

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

 reply
5

Yeah, coffee is definitely not a placebo

 reply
3

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.

 reply
4
edited

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.

 reply
11
Insert image