Mood & Mental Health

·

Study

Most People Can Tell When They've Taken Psilocybin in Trials

Most People Can Tell When They've Taken Psilocybin in Trials

Psilocybin mushrooms

What they found

In a blinded trial of 120 volunteers, 92.5% correctly guessed when they got psilocybin, making blinding hard.

In a blinded trial of 120 volunteers, 92.5% correctly guessed when they got psilocybin, making blinding hard.

The number

92.5% of participants correctly guessed when they received 15 mg psilocybin

How solid is it?

Early human

Early human

Human – RCT

Human – RCT

Evidence ladder: Lab dish → Animal → Early human → Strong human. Reviews summarize earlier research.

At a glance

Latin name

Compound

psilocybin, MDMA, methylphenidate

psilocybin, MDMA, methylphenidate

Sample size

120 healthy volunteers

120 healthy volunteers

Published in

European Neuropsychopharmacology

European Neuropsychopharmacology

Covered in Shroom Scan

Section

PSILOCYBIN & LEGISLATION

PSILOCYBIN & LEGISLATION

As it ran in Shroom Scan

The Placebo Problem

The Placebo Problem

In a double-blind trial of 120 healthy volunteers, 92.5% of participants correctly guessed when they received 15 mg psilocybin, compared with 65% for MDMA and 50% for methylphenidate. Investigators also guessed psilocybin correctly 95% of the time, showing that psychedelic trials can become functionally unblinded even when everyone is technically blinded. Psilocybin’s sensory and consciousness-altering effects make it especially hard to hide from participants, which matters when expectations can shape reported outcomes.

In a double-blind trial of 120 healthy volunteers, 92.5% of participants correctly guessed when they received 15 mg psilocybin, compared with 65% for MDMA and 50% for methylphenidate. Investigators also guessed psilocybin correctly 95% of the time, showing that psychedelic trials can become functionally unblinded even when everyone is technically blinded. Psilocybin’s sensory and consciousness-altering effects make it especially hard to hide from participants, which matters when expectations can shape reported outcomes.

Shroom Scan #119: Vitamin D mushrooms, psilocybin sleep gains, and death cap cancer drugs

Read the original study ↗

Get Shroom Scan

Next study

Psilocybin Therapy Reduced Anxiety Across 25 Studies ›

Shroom Scan · Every Friday

Get Studies Like This, Translated, Every Week

Ten new studies a week, each boiled down to what it found and why it matters to you. Free, and one click to leave.

See what's inside →