Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
Women in a Small Study Reported Some Psychedelic Effects More Strongly
Maastricht University researchers found women reported some psychedelic effects more strongly than men in a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed.
The team combined two trials involving 40 women and 32 men who took laboratory-made psilocybin, LSD or 2C-B.
Women more often reported feeling strongly under the drugs and less alert, and they felt less able to control their thinking.
The differences varied by drug, while tests of understanding and emotional responses to others showed no significant differences between women and men.
Blood tests did not show higher drug exposure in women, despite the possibility that lower average body weight could affect how a fixed dose works.
The researchers say hormones could be involved, but they did not measure hormone levels or menstrual-cycle phase.
Larger studies and research with patients are needed before the findings can help guide support during psychedelic treatment.
In a small preprint study, women reported some psychedelic effects more strongly than men.
The study combined two trials involving 40 women and 32 men who were healthy volunteers with previous psychedelic experience.
Women reported feeling more under the influence, with greater reductions in alertness and less control over their thinking.
The differences varied by drug, and tests found no significant sex differences in understanding or emotional responses to other people.
Researchers said the findings need testing in larger studies and in patients receiving treatment.
- Who
- Researchers from Maastricht University, led by Natasha Mason and Eline Haijen-Bongers, studied 40 women and 32 men.
- What
- Women reported some effects of psychedelics more strongly than men.
- When
- Published October 26, 2026. The dates of the trials are not stated.
- Where
- Maastricht University in the Netherlands conducted the research; the locations of the trials are not stated.
- Why
- The researchers investigated whether women and men experience psychedelics differently. The study did not determine why the reported differences occurred.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The researchers combined results from two trials involving psilocybin, 2C-B and LSD.
ScienceAlert published a report on the preprint study.
- Participants
- 40 women and 32 men
- Study design
- Two trials combined
- Active-drug sessions
- 94
- Drugs studied
- Psilocybin, 2C-B and LSD
- Study status
- Preprint that has not undergone peer review
What people are saying
What surprised me most was that these differences were selective
That said, we did not measure hormone levels or account for menstrual cycle phase in this study, so we cannot determine whether hormones contributed to the differences we observed