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posted by janrinok on Saturday September 07 2019, @10:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the listening-to-the-colors dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Johns Hopkins launches center for psychedelic research

A group of private donors has given $17 million to start the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine, making it what's believed to be the first such research center in the U.S. and the largest research center of its kind in the world.

Psychedelics are a class of drugs that produce unique and profound changes of consciousness over the course of several hours. The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research will focus on how psychedelics affect behavior, brain function, learning and memory, the brain's biology, and mood.

"The center's establishment reflects a new era of research in therapeutics and the mind through studying this unique and remarkable class of pharmacological compounds." Roland GriffithsDirector, Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research

"The center's establishment reflects a new era of research in therapeutics and the mind through studying this unique and remarkable class of pharmacological compounds," says Roland Griffiths, the center's director and professor of behavioral biology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In addition to studies on new therapeutics, we plan to investigate creativity and well-being in healthy volunteers that we hope will open up new ways to support human thriving."

At Johns Hopkins, much of the early work with psychedelics has focused on psilocybin, the chemical found in so-called magic mushrooms. Further studies will determine the chemical's effectiveness as a new therapy for opioid addiction, Alzheimer's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (formerly known as chronic Lyme disease), anorexia nervosa, and alcohol use in people with major depression. Researchers hope to create precision medicine treatments tailored to individual patients' specific needs.

"Johns Hopkins is deeply committed to exploring innovative treatments for our patients," says Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Our scientists have shown that psychedelics have real potential as medicine, and this new center will help us explore that potential."

The center will provide support for a team of six faculty neuroscientists, experimental psychologists, and clinicians with expertise in psychedelic science, as well as five postdoctoral scientists.


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by black6host on Sunday September 08 2019, @12:47AM (4 children)

    by black6host (3827) on Sunday September 08 2019, @12:47AM (#891127) Journal

    Ok, I've been here on this site for a while, and I know a lot of my posts are what I consider humorous, even if the rest of you dolts don't quite get it...

    However, this is a serious question: Anyone know who to call so I can volunteer? Can I work from home? That would be best for me...

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Sunday September 08 2019, @12:56AM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Sunday September 08 2019, @12:56AM (#891129) Journal
    • (Score: 2) by black6host on Sunday September 08 2019, @01:20AM (2 children)

      by black6host (3827) on Sunday September 08 2019, @01:20AM (#891134) Journal

      Well, I was happy to see your recommendation. However, from the link you provided:

      In 1999 he initiated a research program investigating the effects of the classic psychedelic psilocybin that includes studies in healthy volunteers, in beginning and long-term meditators, and in religious leaders.

      What the hell do religious leaders have to do with Lyme disease, PTSD, substance abuse, depression, etc...

      and

      The Hopkins laboratory has also conducted a series of internet survey studies characterizing various psychedelic experiences including those associated with acute and enduring adverse effects, mystical-type effects, entity and God-encounter experiences, and alleged positive changes in mental health, including decreases in depression and anxiety, decreases in substance abuse, and reductions in death anxiety.

      "God-encounter"

      there seems to be a bit too much religion involved for me. I do appreciate the time you took to provide the link, though. Seriously, it added to the conversation.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday September 08 2019, @01:33AM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Sunday September 08 2019, @01:33AM (#891136) Journal

        Religious leaders get high on magic mushrooms ingredient – for science [theguardian.com]

        A Catholic priest, a Rabbi and a Buddhist walk into a bar and order some magic mushrooms. It may sound like the first line of a bad joke, but this scenario is playing out in one of the first scientific investigations into the effects of psychedelic drugs on religious experience – albeit in a laboratory rather than a bar.

        Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have enlisted two dozen religious leaders from a wide range of denominations, to participate in a study in which they will be given two powerful doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

        [...] The experiment, which is currently under way, aims to assess whether a transcendental experience makes the leaders more effective and confident in their work and how it alters their religious thinking.

        [...] The notion that hallucinogenic drugs can bring about mystical experiences is not new and was previously studied in a famous Harvard study known as the “Good Friday experiment [maps.org]”. The study involved a group of seminary scholars being given psilocybin during the Easter-season service to see how it altered their experience of the liturgy. The latest work is thought to be the first involving religious leaders from different faiths.

        Is this work really science, though? Richards argues that it is, saying that the team is using detailed psychology questionnaires and independent raters in their assessments.

        [...] Others are more openly enthusiastic about the broader, non-medical, uses of psychedelic drugs. “My wild fantasy is that, probably some time after I’m long dead, these drugs are used in seminary training, rabbinical training,” said Richards, who began research into psychedelics in the 1960s. “Why shouldn’t the opportunity be there to explore deeply spiritual states of consciousness in a legal way?”

        It sounds like woo-woo, but somebody might get something out of it, so who cares. Also, I'm pretty sure you have to get DEA approval for any kind of study like this, so the experiment has been rubber stamped by the federal government.

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        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 08 2019, @04:44AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 08 2019, @04:44AM (#891184) Journal

          It sounds like woo-woo

          See also altered state of consciousness [wikipedia.org]. It's not only the psychedelics that can cause that.

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