Salience, sensemaking, and setting in psilocybin microdosing : methodological lessons and preliminary findings of a mixed method qualitative study

Oblak, Aleš (author), Hudnik Korošec, Liam (author), Levačić, Anja (author), Elersič, Kristian (author), Pregelj, Peter (author), Bon, Jurij (author)

There are profound methodological challenges facing microdosing research. One way we can address some of these methodological issues is by understanding how psilocybin microdosing fits in the broader existential context of people’s lives. We recruited participants who underwent psilocybin microdosing on their own and consented to being monitored for harm mitigation purposes. We combined momentary ecological assessment and detailed retrospective interviews. Participants reported loosening of mental structures (i.e., less intense strength of thoughts, tangential stream of consciousness), increased salience of external stimuli (varyingly associated with greater interest in otherwise mundane activities, as well as sensory overload), an increase in flexible cognition, a decrease in stable cognition, and various ego-dystonic contents. Highly structured environments were conducive to positive appraisal of experiences and vice versa. Momentary ecological assessment and retrospective interviews yielded differing accounts of microdosing experience. We relate our findings to stable and flexible cognition, as well as the notion of salience. We point out the necessity for systematic mixed methods studies to better characterize the lived experience of taking low doses of psilocybin.

• Language: English
• Keywords: psilocybin, microdosing, momentary ecological assessment, qualitative phenomenology, network model
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 3011-3037
• Numbering: Vol. 38, no. 7
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-176012
• UDC: 616.89:616-092
• ISSN on article: 1465-394X
• DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2024.2393690
• COBISS.SI-ID: 211956739
• Publication date in RUL: 18.11.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Philosophical psychology
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1465-394X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 520632089

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: psilocibin, mikrodoziranje, trenutna ekološka ocena, kvantitativna fenomenologija, mrežni model