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Mind

Microdosing LSD increases the complexity of your brain signals

A measure of consciousness called neural complexity increases even with small doses of LSD, but we still don't know the potential risks of microdosing psychedelic drugs

By Grace Wade

15 February 2024

Small doses of the psychedelic drug LSD

Microgen/Shutterstock

Low doses of the psychedelic drug LSD increase complexity in the brain, even when they don’t alter a person’s consciousness. The finding challenges the idea that these two phenomena are correlated and raises the possibility that even small doses of LSD might have therapeutic effects.

Neural complexity is a measure of the amount of information the brain produces, with all repetitive signals removed – that is, the lowest number of unique brain signals over a given period. Previous studies have shown neural complexity …

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