The evidence is convergent. Multiple independent sources reach the same conclusion, the underlying mechanism is well-characterized, and even the field's most cautious voices treat it as worth doing.
I, for me, I think that the clinical data on MDMA and on psilocybin are very interesting, very interesting. I don't think they are the first and only pass at rewiring the brain, but it is clear that the brain can enter a state of heightened learning capacity, but it needs to be directed towards something.
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The goal of opening plasticity, just, it opens plasticity. That's not the goal. It's like running; the goal isn't running. The goal is to run in a particular direction. So what I think is really needed is to drive that plasticity in particular directions. And I would love to see more directed use of those in, of course, the safe clinical setting where it's appropriate.
This is a very important point that I'll make several times throughout today's episode, which is that just because something invokes neuroplasticity changes in brain circuitry does not mean that it's therapeutic, or I should say, does not necessarily mean that it's therapeutic. For neuroplasticity to be therapeutic, it has to be adaptive, it has to allow someone to function better in life than they did previously.
what we're really talking about are ways to access neuroplasticity the nervous system's incredible ability to modify itself in response to experience ideally to be modified in adaptive ways that make it function better
What's very clear is that the neuroplastic effects of MDMA, the neuroplastic effects of psilocybin are brought about by huge increases in serotonin.
The major effect of psilocybin is to stimulate a particular serotonin receptor which has elevated density in particular brain areas. And indeed, there are many recent clinical trials, many, let's say 12 to 20 good sized clinical trials done in diverse locations on the planet, many at Johns Hopkins and UCSF, some in Switzerland, showing that enhancing, and here you'll notice I'm using the mechanistic language, enhancing the transmission of the release of serotonin and activating particular serotonin receptors leads to an opportunity for more, what, neuroplasticity.
they can foster change they can foster change and they're either neuromodulators or they stimulate the massive release of neuromodulators like dopamine serotonin mostly serotonin and dopamine when we talk about psilocybin and MDMA LSD Etc but that plasticity needs to be directed
they adjust neuromodulators just like but differently than certain drugs that adjust neuromodulators and everyone accepted so the changing neuromodulators to change conscious experience and in that altered experience to be able to achieve neuroplasticity is like a it's also a big duh of course it works that way
But I just think of them as incredibly powerful tools for brain plasticity.