5.6: Discussion and Concluding Remarks

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As mentioned previously, psychedelics are molecules that exert extremely widespread effects on the brain, cognitive processing, and behavior. Cognitive tasks may be able to identify critical points for the onset of effects on cognitive functioning, as well as capture the degree and nature of these effects. Ideally, cognitive tasks would also be paired with neuroimaging to identify changes in the functional network activity that underpins these tasks. This is important for explaining observed differences in performance. Subjective reports also have their place in supplementing findings from cognitive and neuroscience methods and should be included in any analysis, especially when there could be individual differences in strategies used.

Although research that seeks to employ these tasks would ideally take place in a controlled, double-blind research setting, these substances remain federally illegal in the United States and most of Europe. Therefore, preliminary research will most-likely be de-identified and online, with the demand of 200+ participants for psychedelic and non-psychedelic groups. Initial studies can be considered preliminary, with the hopes of generating substantial evidence for why these methods should be funded and carried out in a laboratory. It is crucial that this research evolve into controlled, double-blind research designs. While cognitive tasks are considered objective measures, and sample sizes will be large, the lack of control of the dosage and purity of the psychedelic substance is a large confounding variable. This is important for taking into account placebo effects.

Understanding how low-dose use of psychedelics effects cognitive functioning is not just an intriguing research opportunity. Many people across the world report using psychedelics at low-doses fairly often. This research has real-life application for individuals who are going to start microdosing but are unsure as to how it will affect their everyday functioning. It is important that cognitive science takes a leading role in the psychedelic research community, as the documented effects currently take the form of subjective report and neuroimaging data.