SXSW 2025
Beyond the Clinical Use of Psychedelics: Insight Catalysts
Description:
Psychedelic research has focused on how these drugs improve mental health, but prior to prohibition, there was interest in how they can facilitate creative problem-solving. Here, we aim to rekindle this conversation by discussing Dr. Damer's psychedelic-induced insight on the origins of life and the neurocognitive mechanisms of psychedelics and insight learning. We will also discuss a project at UT Austin in collaboration with Dr. Damer's organization MINDS that is testing the effects of psilocybin on these neurocognitive mechanisms and the potential for psychedelics to induce false insights.
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Takeaways
- Psychedelics may drive insights that not only improve mental health but could also be harnessed for creative problem-solving by technical experts.
- The mechanisms through which psychedelics drive insights are unclear, but processing fluency, the ease of information processing, may play a role.
- The insights reached on psychedelics may feel undeniably true yet not always be, and processing fluency can also drive illusory feelings of insight.
Speakers
- Manoj Doss, Research Fellow, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
- Shayla Love, Science Journalist, The Guardian US
- Greg Fonzo, Assistant Professor and Co-Director, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School
- Bruce Damer, Co-Founder and President, Center for MINDS
Organizer
Manoj Doss, Research Fellow, The University Of Texas At Austin Dell Medical School
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