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The effects of microdose LSD on time perception: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

The effects of microdose LSD on time perception: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Yanakieva, Steliana, Polychroni, Naya, Family, Neiloufar, Williams, Luke, Luke, David ORCID: 0000-0003-2141-2453 and Terhune, Devin B. (2018) The effects of microdose LSD on time perception: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Psychopharmacology, 236 (4). pp. 1159-1170. ISSN 0033-3158 (Print), 1432-2072 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-5119-x)

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Abstract

Rationale:

Previous research demonstrating that lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) produces alterations in time perception has implications for its impact on conscious states and a range of psychological functions that necessitate precise interval timing. However, interpretation of this research is hindered by methodological limitations and an inability to dissociate direct neurochemical effects on interval timing from indirect effects attributable to altered states of consciousness.

Methods:
We conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study contrasting oral administration of placebo with three microdoses of LSD (5, 10, and 20 μg) in older adults. Subjective drug effects were regularly recorded and interval timing was assessed using a temporal reproduction task spanning subsecond and suprasecond intervals.

Results:
LSD conditions were not associated with any robust changes in self-report indices of perception, mentation, or concentration. LSD reliably produced over-reproduction of temporal intervals of 2000 ms and longer with these effects most pronounced in the 10 μg dose condition. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that LSD-mediated over-reproduction was independent of marginal differences in self-reported drug effects across conditions.

Conclusions:
These results suggest that microdose LSD produces temporal dilation of suprasecond intervals in the absence of subjective alterations of consciousness.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © The Author(s) 2018. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Uncontrolled Keywords: interval timing, LSD, microdosing, older adults, striatum
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified: 28 Apr 2020 18:52
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/22278

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