News Archives - UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

Tripping into Old Age: Can Psychedelics Protect the Aging Brain?

Posted on June 8, 2026June 8, 2026

Berkeley, CA – June 8, 2026

Written by Kara Manke for UC Berkeley News

In a new study, UC Berkeley researchers are investigating whether psilocybin can support healthy aging by boosting plasticity in the brains of older adults.

A new first-of-its-kind study at UC Berkeley is investigating whether psychedelics can help promote healthy aging. In the study, researchers use functional MRI, paired with other mental assessments, to measure the brain activity of older adults before and after a psychedelic experience. Credit: Brandon Sánchez Mejia/UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley doctoral student Tyler Toueg (left) and Professor Michael Silver (right) are two of the lead researchers on the study. Credit: Brandon Sánchez Mejia/UC Berkeley
The study is the first psychedelic neuroimaging study specifically focused on healthy older adults. In this re-enactment, Dr. Alia Lilienstein debriefs a participant at the research lab in Berkeley. Credit: Brandon Sánchez Mejia/UC Berkeley

Can psychedelics help our minds and brains stay healthy as we grow older?

That’s the question posed by a new first-of-its-kind study launched earlier this year at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics.

The study, known as PLASTICITY (Psychedelic Longitudinal Aging Study In Cognitively Healthy Older Adults), is the first psychedelic neuroimaging study specifically focused on older adults. The study will use MRI and other measures to investigate how psilocybin impacts memory, perception, emotion, and brain structure and function in healthy adults between the ages of 60 and 85.

The researchers will test whether psychedelics can enhance neuroplasticity in the brains of healthy older adults, help them regulate their emotions, feel more socially connected, and experience a sense of awe. Previous work has shown that psychedelics can reduce negative mental states like depression, anxiety, stress and rumination, and that these negative mental states may be linked with accelerated aging, said Tyler Toueg, a UC Berkeley doctoral student in neuroscience who co-led the project’s design.

“There’s a lot of overlap between the mental states that psychedelics influence and those associated with successful aging,” Toueg said.

As populations age worldwide, cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are becoming increasingly common, with significant consequences for individuals, families, and health care systems. Given this demographic shift and the rising burden of neurodegenerative disease, there is an urgent need for new strategies to promote successful aging.

Previous studies in non-human animals have shown that psilocybin increases the number of synaptic connections in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of the brain. If psilocybin has the same effect on the human brain, it could help counteract the structural brain changes associated with aging.

“One of the things that I am most interested in is seeing whether we can actually measure those potentially beneficial brain changes in older adults,” Toueg said.

While thousands of people have received psilocybin in controlled research settings over the past several decades, older adults have been largely absent from modern psychedelics studies. A 2024 review found that older adults represented only about 1.4% of all participants.

“Older adults have been almost entirely excluded from modern psychedelics research, yet they may stand to benefit significantly from compounds that promote brain plasticity,” said Michael Silver, a professor of optometry and vision science and neuroscience and the faculty director of the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. “This study allows us to directly test whether the promising findings from animal models translate to older humans and to generate data that will inform future research on aging, cognition, and mental health.”

In the study, participants will take 1-30 mg of synthetic psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. The researchers will collect a baseline assessment before each participant’s psychedelic experience. Then, they’ll repeat the assessment one week and one month after the experience to look for changes.

The assessments will include cognitive, perceptual, and emotion testing, as well as advanced brain imaging. The imaging includes diffusion MRI to measure the microstructure of the hippocampus — a part of the brain involved with memory and learning — and functional MRI to examine brain activity during memory encoding and retrieval. Participants will also undergo measures of visual perception and will complete surveys examining how subjective aspects of the experience relate to longer-term changes in well-being.

The study will also assess whether psilocybin can lead to sustained increases in vagus nerve activity when participants are experiencing positive emotions, like awe. Because vagus nerve activity is associated with better recovery from stress, it is a possible mechanism that could explain how psilocybin is related to mental health.

“One of the wonderful aspects of doing a study like this at UC Berkeley is that we are able to work with a broad array of experts — including emotion scientists and people who are experts in cognition and aging — to simultaneously study many facets of the enduring effects of the psychedelic experience,” Silver said.

The interdisciplinary project was designed by Toueg, a Ph.D. candidate in the neuroscience graduate program at Berkeley, along with faculty spanning neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry: Silver, a leading neuroscientist in the study of the human visual system in the brain; William Jagust, a prominent neuroscientist studying brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease; Dacher Keltner, a renowned psychologist on emotion, awe and well-being; and Brian Anderson, a psychiatrist at both UCSF and Berkeley’s psychedelics center, who is also acting as the medical director for the study.

If you would like to learn more about potentially being a research participant in BCSP neuroscience studies of human subjects, please email BCSPresearchsubjects@berkeley.edu.

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PLASTICITY Study Launches to Explore Psilocybin and Healthy Aging

Posted on June 8, 2026June 9, 2026

Photo of BCSP's Tyler Toueg and Michael Silver in front of art — Two of the PLASTICITY study designers: PhD candidate Tyler Toueg (left) and Michael Silver (right). Credit: Brandon Sánchez Mejia/UC Berkeley

BERKELEY, CA — Researchers at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) have begun enrolling participants in a new study investigating how psilocybin may affect memory, perception, emotion, and brain structure and function in healthy older adults.

The study, known as PLASTICITY (Psychedelic Longitudinal Aging Study In Cognitively Healthy Older Adults), dosed its first participant this year, marking a milestone in research on aging and neuroplasticity. The experiments in this study address a significant gap: while thousands of people have received psilocybin in controlled research settings over the past several decades, older adults have been largely absent from modern psychedelic studies, representing less than 1.4% of all participants.

As populations age worldwide, cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are becoming increasingly common, with significant consequences for individuals, families and health care systems. Given this demographic shift and the rising burden of neurodegenerative disease, there is an urgent need for new strategies to promote successful aging. This study examines whether psilocybin could serve as one such strategy.

This study explores whether psilocybin, a compound known to influence brain plasticity, may offer a new avenue to promote healthy aging.

The interdisciplinary project was designed by Tyler Toueg, a Ph.D. candidate in the neuroscience graduate program at UC Berkeley, along with UC Berkeley faculty spanning neuroscience and psychology: Michael Silver, a leading neuroscientist in the study of psychedelics; William Jagust, a prominent neuroscientist studying brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease; Dacher Keltner, renowned psychologist on emotion, awe and well-being; and Brian Anderson, a psychiatrist at both UCSF and the BCSP, who is also acting as the medical director for the study.

Researchers will administer between 1 – 30 mg synthetic psilocybin and assess outcomes over the following two months. The experimental methods are cognitive, perceptual, and emotion testing and advanced brain imaging, including diffusion MRI to measure hippocampal microstructure and functional MRI to examine brain activity during memory encoding and retrieval. Participants will also undergo measures of visual perception and will complete surveys examining how subjective aspects of the experience relate to longer-term changes in well-being.

Previous research in animals suggests that psilocybin has shown to increase the number of synaptic connections in the hippocampus, which could theoretically counteract neural changes associated with aging. This study will be among the first to directly examine whether psychedelics may counteract these changes in healthy older adults.

“Older adults have been almost entirely excluded from modern psychedelic research, yet they may stand to benefit significantly from compounds that promote brain plasticity,” says Silver, a professor of optometry and vision science and neuroscience and the faculty director of the BCSP. “This study allows us to directly test whether the promising findings from animal models translate to older humans and to generate data that will inform future research on aging, cognition, and mental health.”

By integrating cognitive, perceptual, emotional, and biological measures, the study aims to generate foundational data on how a single psychedelic experience may influence brain structure and function and processes related to aging.

Media Contact

Rana Freedman
Executive Director of Communications
bcspmedia@berkeley.edu, (510) 664-5938

About the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) is an academic research center dedicated to the advancement of psychedelic discovery for the public good. The BCSP serves as a leading trusted source for scientific and interdisciplinary inquiry through rigorous scientific research, balanced journalism, accessible public education and reciprocal community engagement. The BCSP envisions a world in which progress in psychedelic research, public education, policy and practice lead to improvements in health and well-being. The BCSP is guided by the values and principles of acting with integrity and transparency, conducting rigorous research, serving as responsible stewards of public resources, embodying equity and reciprocity, and approaching the work with curiosity. For more information, visit psychedelics.berkeley.edu.

Can Psilocybin Promote Successful Aging?

Posted on June 5, 2026June 8, 2026

An older man reclines on a couch with an eye mask on. There is an array of light on the way next to him: purple, yellow, pink and green. — The study on psychedelics and aging is administered at the BCSP lab in Berkeley. Credit: Brandon Sánchez Mejia/UC Berkeley

As more humans live longer, there’s a growing focus on aging well. In a new study at the BCSP, scientists are researching a promising potential use of psilocybin: to promote successful aging of healthy older adults.

We caught up with Tyler Toueg, a Ph.D. candidate in the neuroscience graduate program at UC Berkeley, and Michael Silver, neuroscientist and director of the BCSP, in a Q&A about psilocybin’s possible benefits for older adults, the brain mechanisms underlying cognitive decline, and how this study could open up further possibilities for psychedelics research.

BCSP:

Tell us about the aims of the BCSP’s PLASTICITY (Psychedelic Longitudinal Aging Study In Cognitively Healthy Older Adults) study.

Tyler Toueg:

There are many things that we’re testing in the study, but one of the most meaningful is seeing whether we can demonstrate changes in structural plasticity in the brain that could be helpful for older adults. We know that with age, we lose synaptic connections, especially in certain brain regions like the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. It’s been shown in animal models that psychedelics increase the number of synaptic connections in these regions, so we’re using MRI to assess structural change after giving psilocybin to our participants.

The other aim I’m particularly interested in is that there are a variety of different behaviors that are associated with either more successful or worse aging. Things like depression, anxiety, stress and rumination are all associated with worse aging outcomes. Things like having purpose in life, emotional regulation, and awe are all associated with more successful aging. From what we’ve seen in other psychedelic studies that were not focused on older adults, psychedelics tend to promote changes in outcomes that have been associated with successful aging, and reduce outcomes that have been associated with worse aging. In this study, we’re interested in seeing if there is evidence of these changes in older adults one month after taking psilocybin.

BCSP:

Why do changes in structural plasticity matter as we age?

Michael Silver:

There are declines in structural plasticity associated with aging, which can represent a reduction in function and ability. There’s evidence that psychedelics cause structural brain changes in the opposite direction of those that often occur with aging.

BCSP:

Why is it meaningful to study psychedelics and older adults?

Tyler Toueg:

One of the reasons is that we don’t have a lot of tools available to help promote “successful aging.” Before coming to Berkeley, I studied the characterization of risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and I realized that even if we could predict a person’s trajectory earlier and more accurately than we are currently able to, what we could offer people often wouldn’t really change. The general advice would be to exercise, sleep, eat healthy, and engage in social connection. The tools around promoting successful aging are really under-explored.

Michael Silver:

It’s also worth mentioning that older subjects are extremely underrepresented in psychedelics research. Of those that have participated in psychedelics trials, less than 1.4 percent are in the age range we’re studying.

Tyler Toueg:

Yeah, we’re actually the first to do a psychedelic neuroimaging study in older adults.

I’m very interested in psilocybin as a potential mental health treatment, but I’m also interested in it as a way to shed light on these central mysteries in neuroscience and psychology.
Michael Silver

BCSP:

This study is multidisciplinary, involving researchers across departments. Can you share more about how it came together?

Michael Silver:

In this study, we’re able to uniquely play to our strengths at UC Berkeley by working together with Dr. Dacher Keltner and Dr. Bill Jagust and the members of their labs. Berkeley has outstanding basic mechanistic research in both neuroscience and psychology. Within that area, Dacher’s work has been very influential in questioning the deficit model of well-being, where we wait for something to break, as opposed to promoting proactive approaches to human health and flourishing. Bill is one of the leading authorities in the world on aging and its biological mechanisms. Tyler brought us together to design the basic structure of the PLASTICITY study.

BCSP:

How does this study contribute to the broader field of psychedelics research?

Michael Silver:

Until recently, there had been almost no legal research with psychedelics in human subjects for nearly fifty years, which is really unprecedented. Even for very controversial topics like gun control or poverty research, the research has continued in some form at traditional research institutions, but that wasn’t the case for psychedelics for decades.

During the time when there was a desert of research in psychedelics, neuroscience advanced tremendously, and we now have these incredible tools for noninvasively measuring structural and functional changes in the brain. Normally, such scientific advances would go hand-in-hand with the research on a topic like psychedelics, but we have this real mismatch, with many fundamental questions about the effects and actions of psychedelics that have yet to be addressed.

Much of the resurgence of psychedelics research has been focused on development of new therapies for FDA approval for mental health treatments, so the studies have been on safety or efficacy of a particular treatment for a particular disorder. For that kind of work, you don’t necessarily need to understand the brain mechanisms; you just need to assess if it works and if it’s safe enough.

At the BCSP, we’re conducting some of the missing basic science research. We’re fortunate to have philanthropist funders who are interested in these basic questions, who see psychedelics as tools for deepening our understanding of the mind and brain and consciousness. It’s important for our work that our research subjects aren’t patients; we’re not treating them for a disorder. We are conducting foundational research which will provide important information for developing more precise and effective therapies.

BCSP:

Where are you in the study now?

Tyler Toueg:

We started enrollment last November and we now have two subjects that have gone through all the study visits, so we have two full data sets. Recruitment is ongoing, and our goal is to have twenty subjects dosed by the end of 2026.

BCSP:

This study has the potential to have wide-ranging implications for psychedelic science. What possible findings excite each of you the most?

Tyler Toueg:

What really excites me is that we’re focused on healthy older adults. Most clinical trials with older adults are focused on people who already have a diagnosis. We’re asking whether we can actually promote positive outcomes in older adults who are healthy. It has been exciting to see emerging interest in the potential of psychedelics to promote successful aging, and I’m thrilled to be part of one of the first studies to explore this. I think that no matter what we find, this study will have implications for how we think about intervening in the aging brain.

Michael Silver:

I’m most excited by the basic science possibilities. We have so much to learn about the relationships among the mind and brain and consciousness, and at this time, we don’t even know what the form of the answers is going to look like. In the type of pharmacology research that we are doing, we know what the drug is chemically, and we know the types of neurotransmitter receptors it interacts with, but we don’t know how this leads to psychedelic experiences and long-term changes to the brain. I’m very interested in psilocybin as a potential mental health treatment, but I’m also interested in it as a way to shed light on these central mysteries in neuroscience and psychology.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Interested in being part of the study?

The Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics is recruiting older adult participants for an experiment studying the effects of psilocybin on neuroplasticity. Participants will be asked to take a 1-30 mg dose of psilocybin and undergo 3 MRI sessions (1 week before psilocybin, 1 week after psilocybin, and 1 month after psilocybin). There will be 5 in person visits and 6 remote visits (approximately 40 hours over 3 months). Participants will be compensated at a rate of $15/hour, with a cap of $550. The study will take place partially remote and partially in person at the Brain Imaging Center and at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, Telegraph office.

Eligibility:

1. Healthy participants

2. Must be 60 – 85 years of age

To participate or learn more, please contact BCSP Research Staff at (415) 874-1308 or BCSPresearchsubjects@berkeley.edu.

UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics Releases Second Annual UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey Results

Posted on May 13, 2026May 21, 2026

BERKELEY, CA — The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) today released the results of its signature 2025 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey. The final report, “A Rising Tide of Cautious Support,” examines how U.S. voters perceive psychedelics, and related public policy proposals and educational opportunities, while also exploring attitudes toward those who use psychedelics. The report is available here.

The UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey is one of the first national public opinion surveys dedicated specifically to tracking attitudes on psychedelics over time. Now in its second administration, it offers researchers, policymakers, educators and journalists a unique window into evolving U.S. public opinion at a pivotal moment for the field. As the U.S. government signals increased interest in this space, like the recent executive order, it’s critical to understand where the public stands on psychedelics and what concerns they hold around their use.

“The BCSP’s mission is to advance psychedelic discovery for the public good,“ says Andrea Venezia, Executive Director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and a lead author of the report. “Conducting this survey reflects our commitment not only to conducting research to help with complex societal issues, but to understanding the broader social and cultural landscape in which that research takes place. If policymakers want to accelerate psychedelic research and related options for the treatment of certain mental health conditions, the need for sound science and public education is more important than ever before.”

The 2025 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey reveals a nuanced picture of U.S. voter opinions, in which four themes stood out:

Growing awareness, but trust is lacking.
74% of U.S. voters report having been exposed to information about psychedelics in the past year, and familiarity with someone who has used psychedelics continues to rise. However, voters report significant uncertainty about where to turn for trustworthy information, and confidence in available sources remains relatively low across the board.
Cautious but growing support for psychedelic policy reform.
Support for scientific research into psychedelics and for highly regulated access — such as in therapeutic or clinical trial settings — is growing. Voters show considerably more enthusiasm for controlled and supervised models of access than for broader decriminalization or recreational use, suggesting that the public is open to psychedelics but wants guardrails in place.
Safety concerns remain widespread.
While awareness of the potential benefits of psychedelics is growing, many voters continue to harbor significant concerns about their safety. Less than 1 in 4 U.S. voters view psychedelics as safer than alcohol or tobacco, and worries about adverse effects and misuse remain common, underscoring the need for clear, evidence-based public education.
Stigmas persist and likely shape public perception.
Despite increasing societal visibility, people who use psychedelics continue to face negative social perceptions from a substantial portion of the public. For example, about 25% of the sample said “addicts” and “irresponsible” described users well and only 16-17% said “moral” or “smart” described them well. These stigmas could be tied to concerns about safety and legality, and may present a meaningful barrier to both public education efforts and policy reform.

To explore these findings further, the BCSP will host a webinar on Wednesday May 27, 2026 at 10am PDT/1pm EDT featuring report authors Andrea Venezia, Tyrone Sgambati and Kuranda Morgan from the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Joining as guest speaker is Michelle Priest, co-principal investigator for the RAND Psychedelics Survey, who will provide a look at how her survey data intersects with that of the BCSP’s. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from the researchers about the findings and ask questions about what they may mean for the future of psychedelic policy, research and education. Registration is free and open to the public: https://berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S2laufU_TSqzBfJAv15Cdg#/registration

The full 2025 report, a Q&A with our research scientist, registration to the webinar and the prior 2023 report, can be found at psychedelics.berkeley.edu/survey. Andrea Venezia (report author and Executive Director of the BCSP) and Tyrone Sgambati (report author and postdoctoral research scientist) are available for interviews.

Figures, tables or infographics available here. Alternative sizes or graphics upon request.

Media Contact:

Rana Freedman, Executive Director of Communications

Email: bcspmedia@berkeley.edu

About the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

Five Big Takeaways from the 2025 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey

Posted on May 13, 2026June 8, 2026

Psychedelics are having a moment — in labs, in legislatures and in mental health spaces. But how does the U.S. public actually feel about them? That’s what the UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey set out to find. Now in its second administration, this year’s survey tracks shifting American attitudes during a period of rapid legal, scientific, political and cultural change — providing the kind of data that can inform policymaking and public education. Building on an inaugural survey in 2023, the BCSP researchers refined their methodology and expanded into new areas of public opinion. Below, postdoctoral research scientist Tyrone Sgambati walks us through five big findings from 2025. (Note: The BCSP does not advocate for any specific policy positions or ballot measures). Read more about the report here.

Join the BCSP authors of the report (titled A Rising Tide of Cautious Support), Tyrone Sgambati, Andrea Venezia and Kuranda Morgan, for a webinar on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 10amPDT/1pmEDT to go over the results of the survey. Registration is free and open to anyone.

Takeaway #1

Exposure to psychedelics is reaching new heights in the U.S., with an increasing number of voters reporting proximity to psychedelics.

While definitions differ, when people use the term psychedelics, the substances they are referring to often include psilocybin, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, mescaline, ibogaine, ketamine and MDMA. In our 2025 survey, we found that 57% of voters had either used psychedelics themselves or knew someone close to them who had — up from 53% in 2023. What’s especially interesting is that certain demographics saw much larger increases over that same time period. Three groups stand out: Black voters, older voters (over 65) and conservative voters all saw outsized increases in proximity to psychedelics. That means, for example, 15% more Black voters reported proximity to psychedelics than they did two years ago. Those groups are still below the national average in terms of overall exposure, but they’re catching up fast.

A large proportion of voters see psychedelics as potentially useful for mental health conditions, whether that’s end-of-life distress, PTSD, trauma, anxiety or depression.

Takeaway #2

There is a lack of trust in professional sources of information about psychedelics, such as medical professionals.

In the survey, we asked about trust on different categories of people providing information on psychedelics. They included medical professionals, mental health professionals, professors at universities, faith leaders, etc. One big takeaway for us was that out of seven sources of information about psychedelics, none were overwhelmingly trusted by the population. Mental health professionals came out on top, but only around 30% of voters said they found them very trustworthy on this topic. That said, the most common response across the board was “somewhat trustworthy” and to me, that points to a potential opening for these sources to build trust with voters.

Takeaway #3

Support for policy reform is increasing.

This is one of the most interesting takeaways to me. We tracked support for policy proposals over time, and the picture is nuanced. On the one hand, we saw strong increases in support for regulated access — making psychedelics available as a prescription medicine and legalizing them for therapeutic use — and making it easier for scientists to study them. More than 50% of voters support making psychedelics easier to research, making it the most popular policy reform proposal we are tracking. On the other hand, support for decriminalizing personal use and possession of psychedelics remained unchanged, with only around 25% of voters indicating their support.

My read on that distinction is that a minority share of the population are increasingly supportive of regulated, controlled access, but significant concerns around safety remain.

Takeaway #4

People generally perceive psychedelics as most useful for PTSD and other mental health conditions.

A large proportion of voters see psychedelics as potentially useful for mental health conditions, whether that’s end-of-life distress, PTSD, trauma, anxiety or depression. Support was generally higher for treatment-resistant diagnoses, which might indicate a belief that psychedelics shouldn’t be the first line of treatment, but might be worth considering when nothing else has worked.

It’s also worth noting the high levels of uncertainty in these responses. For each of the uses we asked about, 17-33% of voters said they simply didn’t know how useful psychedelics would be — which speaks to a broader gap in public knowledge around the efficacy and the safety of psychedelics.

Takeaway #5

Concern and stigma about psychedelics is widespread, though many voters report not knowing enough to make judgements.

We asked voters to compare the safety of psychedelics to alcohol and tobacco, and only about 20% of voters said that psychedelics were safer than either. But when we asked about use in a supervised setting, the numbers shifted: 34% felt that supervised psychedelic use would be safe. We take that as a sign that people do believe that context and precautions matter.

We also found that over a third of voters consider psychedelics addictive, and 24% view people who use them as irresponsible or addicts. At the same time, users are most commonly perceived as open-minded and creative. So social perception is really mixed amongst our participants: creative and open-minded on one hand by some, while reckless and irresponsible by others.

Learn more about the 2025 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey here.

A Neuroscientist Describes Your Brain on Psychedelics in 101 Seconds

Posted on May 11, 2026June 5, 2026

Berkeley, CA – May 4, 2026

Written by Kara Manke and Charlotte Khadra for UC Berkeley News

Michael Silver wants to know what your brain looks like on psychedelics.

From Timothy Leary to Michael Pollan, countless psychologists, journalists and cultural leaders have documented the profound impact psychedelics can have on the human mind. And long before these substances became popularized in Western society, psychoactive plants were a key component in many Indigenous healing practices.

But underneath these mental states is a physical organ — the brain — composed of a tangled web of neurons and other cells that somehow work together to create these transformative experiences. As Silver explains in this 101 in 101 video, scientists still know very little about what exactly is happening inside the brains of people on psychedelics.

As the director of the BCSP, Silver is leading a team of researchers who are using brain imaging to uncover the “nuts and bolts” of how psychedelics work in the brain.

By collecting “movies” of the brain activity of people on psychedelics, they hope to link changes in brain activity with changes in perception. This detailed, mechanistic understanding of psychedelics and the brain could not only transform how we understand the human mind and consciousness — it could also lead to new and possibly more effective treatments for mental illness.

“A psychedelic experience in the right therapeutic context can result in enduring, maybe permanent changes in people… there have been studies in the lab environment where the majority of people rated it as one of the most profound and sometimes spiritually meaningful experiences of their lives,” said Silver, a professor of optometry and vision science and of neuroscience at Berkeley. “We believe that this kind of information will eventually be critical for improving well-being in society and reducing suffering.”

Watch more 101 in 101 videos featuring UC Berkeley faculty and experts here.

Collective Continuance: Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship Q&A with Marlena Robbins

Posted on February 16, 2026April 8, 2026

Q&A with Marlena Robbins

Marlena Robbins is a Doctor of Public Health candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, and Program Coordinator for the Collective Continuance Fellowship (CCF). Her research examines multigenerational perspectives on psilocybin mushrooms in urban Native communities and the development of the CCF as a model for ethical engagement in psychedelic research. Drawing on implementation science, Indigenous methodologies, and public health prevention theory, she studies how research design, governance, and training structures can shape the future of psychedelic science. She has contributed to tribal engagement strategies for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and served on the Colorado Natural Medicine Tribal Working Group.

In addition, Marlena was a co-author on the recently published paper, Indigenous Knowledge Systems & Psychedelic Science: Towards Ethical and Reciprocal Collaboration. BCSP financial support made the publication open-access, and we will continue to support future publications that center Indigenous voices, ethics and knowledge production in the psychedelic field.

BCSP

Can you tell us a bit about your research and your background in the psychedelic field?

Marlena Robbins

My entry into this work started with building a relationship with the medicine itself. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I wanted to understand psilocybin-assisted therapy for end-of-life care to help him with his transition. That experience led me to apply to the Doctor of Public Health program at UC Berkeley, where I began learning about ethnopsychopharmacology and the development of culturally informed psychedelic-assisted therapy for groups that identify with particular cultural traditions.

My public health training pushed me to think beyond individual experiences and toward systems, institutions, and prevention. I started asking broader questions: How do these culturally grounded approaches intersect with Western mental health practices? Where do they align and where do they diverge? And what gets lost, or overlooked, when Western science becomes the primary framework for understanding healing?

How do we find balance, where both Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science are treated as valuable, with tools that can teach and learn from one another?

BCSP

How did you first get involved with the BCSP and the fellowship?

Marlena Robbins

I received the Indigenous Student Research Fellowship through the BCSP and both Dr. Tina Trujillo and Dr. Andrea Gomez became mentors to me. At a time when conversations about commercialization and exploitation of Indigenous communities were becoming more visible in the psychedelic space, it felt meaningful to see an initiative that centered Indigenous presence within an academic research environment.

While the fellowship offered funding, it also signaled that Indigenous perspectives and methodologies belonged in scientific institutions as something worth investing in and learning from.

BCSP

How did this intersect with your dissertation work?

Marlena Robbins

The fellowship supported the early development of my dissertation research. One of my dissertation papers examines the first iteration of the Indigenous Student Research Fellowship and what emerged from that initial cohort. My second paper focuses on the continued development of the fellowship, which is now called the Collective Continuance: Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship. In that paper, I look at how the fellowship might serve as a broader model for the psychedelic field as it begins to ask more foundational questions: What does reciprocity look like in practice? What does ethical research actually involve when Indigenous knowledge systems are engaged? And how can Indigenous ways of knowing exist alongside Western science without being extracted, simplified or translated only on Western terms? This felt especially urgent in the psychedelic field, where interest is accelerating faster than shared ethical infrastructure.

BCSP

Tell us about your new role as the Collective Continuance: Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship program coordinator at the BCSP.

Marlena Robbins

I come into this role as a student first. I’m still learning, and I’m careful not to position myself as an expert. I’m holding this role as a doctoral candidate applying what I’ve learned over the past four years, and as a Diné woman carrying lived experience shaped by how and where I grew up.

My intention is to help center Indigenous knowledge systems within psychedelic science because the field feels lopsided. Western scientific methods dominate, even when the medicines being studied come from Indigenous context with their own epistemologies and ethical frameworks. Part of my role is to help introduce these paradigms thoughtfully and gently while also asking the scientific community to reflect on its assumptions about what counts as valid knowledge.

There are ways of knowing that have been carried for thousands of years. The question I keep returning to is how do we find balance, where both Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science are treated as valuable, with tools that can teach and learn from one another?

BCSP

Who else is shaping the fellowship?

Marlena Robbins

We are working with a focus group of six Indigenous advisors who are helping to guide the fellowship’s design. We’ve shared insights from interviews with previous cohort members, conversations with BCSP staff and reflections from the fellowship’s earlier leadership, including Dr. Gomez, Dr. Trujillo, Dr. David Presti and Dr. Dacher Keltner.

The advisors have been generous with their time, energy and ideas. Then the pilot cohort will also play an active role by testing the partnerships that we’re building, allowing us to learn from how the fellowship functions in practice and not just in theory.

BCSP

Tell us about the upcoming cohort of fellows.

Marlena Robbins

The pilot cohort will include two fellows. We’ll invite them to share their work and to help further shape the fellowship by reflecting on what felt supportive, what didn’t work as intended and what needs rethinking. This phase is intentionally iterative. The fellows are seen as contributors and co-designers of the program’s evolution.

BCSP

The fellowship centers expertise, lived experience and relationship-based governance rather than relying solely on traditional academic hierarchy. Can you speak to the power of structuring the program that way?

Marlena Robbins

The fellowship invites collaboration across roles including Indigenous researchers, advisors, scholars, scientists and traditional practitioners, all with space to lead and design. There is an Indigenous advisory council and there are the fellows, who are UC Berkeley students. Some may be Indigenous and some may not, but all are engaging seriously with the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems and psychedelic science. Many fellows have been trained within a narrow scientific framework. This fellowship asks them to learn additional methods shaped by Indigenous methodologies, data sovereignty and ethical research practices. We also prioritize partnerships with Indigenous-led organizations that already hold this knowledge, instead of asking institutions to reinvent it. This approach is intended to prevent extractive research relationships, misuse of Indigenous knowledge and institutional practices that reproduce harm even when intentions are good.

BCSP

How does your experience as a doctoral student shape how you’re approaching the fellowship?

Marlena Robbins

My experience as a doctoral student strongly shapes how I approach this fellowship. Early-career researchers often face foundational questions such as how to refine research questions, select methods, navigate Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes, and understand the responsibilities that come with working across knowledge systems, questions I encountered firsthand when beginning my own multigenerational research.

The fellowship is designed as an added layer of support for scholars whose training may not fully prepare them to engage Indigenous knowledge systems. For example, if a researcher hopes to work with Indigenous elders around psychedelic medicines, such as engaging Mazatec communities in conversations about psilocybin mushrooms, the research questions extend beyond methodology. How are relationships built over time? How is trust established? Who guides the research process? And who holds authority over how knowledge is shared and used? The fellowship creates space for researchers to think through these questions with careful approaches that are responsive to community contexts.

BCSP

How do you think about the fellowship playing a broader role in the psychedelic field?

Marlena Robbins

At a systems level, change begins upstream. If we engage students early and support them in developing research that takes Indigenous-centered perspectives seriously, the fellowship functions as a form of primary prevention at the level of research practice. Operating across individual, institutional and community contexts, it intervenes before extractive or unethical approaches become embedded, supporting research relationships built on accountability, responsibility and respect. This work is informed by socio-ecological approaches to prevention and public health ethics, which emphasize upstream intervention, systems-level change and the prevention of structural harm.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Social Media Fellow Q&As: Solei Sarmiento

Posted on January 12, 2026January 11, 2026

image of Solei Sarmiento with orange background

Welcome to the BCSP’s interview series highlighting the perspectives of Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Social Media Fellows. Please note these interviews describe the experiences and perspectives of the fellows and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BCSP.

Q&A with Solei Sarmiento

Solei Sarmiento is a Master of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School, where she studies integrative spiritual care through the lens of Mesoamerican traditional knowledge. Her work explores how ancestral practices can support individual healing and inspire organizational and systems-level transformation. She holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from UC Berkeley, where she researched daily awe, contemplative ecological pedagogies and prosocial behavior. As director and co-founder of the nonprofit Sunflower Sutras, she co-creates projects with Indigenous elders, scholars and artists that weave storytelling, traditional knowledge and research to cultivate new forms of learning and leadership. She is committed to bridging research, ancestral knowledge and community practice to advance collective well-being. You can see her work from the fellowship at @sunflower.sutras.

BCSP

Tell us about your Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Social Media Fellowship project. What was your favorite part of the project? Did you learn anything that surprised you?

Solei Sarmiento

The Sacred Medicines online conference–a collaboration between Sunflower Sutras, the Confederation of Amazonic Nationalities of Peru (CONAP) and International Consciousness Research Laboratories–served as the focus of my fellowship’s storytelling work. The project aimed to amplify Indigenous voices and explore ethical, decolonial approaches to psychedelics through thoughtful multimedia storytelling.

We structured this fellowship project in two interconnected phases. The first phase focused on the lead-up to the conference: We connected with elders, Indigenous young leaders and conference facilitators through interviews, while contextualizing the conference through educational carousel posts on decolonial research methodologies. The second phase highlighted select material from the conference itself—shared with the elders’ permission—including their reflections, as well as insights from participants on how the conference influenced their research, psychedelic practice or journey reconnecting with ancestral traditions. These narratives were shared via short-form videos and carousel posts, offering both intimate stories and accessible frameworks for understanding.

Through interviews, profiles and poetic carousels, we explored what bridging looks like in practice: how to uphold reciprocity, navigate cultural complexity and challenge extractive patterns while working across worlds. My favorite part was revisiting and editing footage with the elders, seeing how it connected with conference conversations and witnessing the collaborative energy this storytelling generated. It was especially meaningful to highlight voices like Ruro Caituro Monge, an Andean midwife, and bring perspectives on midwifery and community health into dialogue with broader audiences.

My favorite part was revisiting and editing footage with the elders, seeing how it connected with conference conversations and witnessing the collaborative energy this storytelling generated.

BCSP

What motivated you to apply for this fellowship? How does your personal background or lived experience inform your interest in psychedelic storytelling?

Solei Sarmiento

This project was co-created with Francisco Lopez Rivarola, co-founder of Sunflower Sutras. My motivation for applying to this fellowship grew from the meeting point between my training in contemplative sciences—where I first witnessed Western and Indigenous wisdom traditions in dialogue—and my desire as a Mexican-American to reconnect with my ancestral traditions. As a cognitive scientist in the field of contemplative sciences and chaplain-in-training, I see great beauty in cross-disciplinary, relational and culturally rooted knowledge-making.

This project emerged from two questions we saw resonating across many communities. First: How do we bridge Indigenous knowledge with Western hearts in ways that honor depth, context and reciprocity? And second: For people of color living in “in-between” identities—mixed-heritage, diasporic or mestizo—how can reconnection with ancestral traditions happen ethically, respectfully and with care?

Through conversations with elders and mixed-heritage scholars, we learned that navigating this terrain requires humility, relational accountability and a willingness to sit with ambiguity. Many emphasized that reconnection must arise through dialogue, consent and reciprocity—not through simply consuming traditions, but through showing up in ways that honor the communities who hold them.

From the outset, we were conscious of the long history of extractive research. Those of us in the new generation of contemplative researchers and psychedelic chaplains seeking to bridge Western and Indigenous knowledge systems must reckon with this history and move with great care, humility and respect.

The conference we were documenting centered Indigenous elders and their teachings, and with their permission, we felt a responsibility to share insights at the heart of the gathering. Motivated by the ongoing lack of Indigenous and BIPOC representation in the psychedelic field, we saw educational storytelling—before, during and after the conference—as a powerful way to honor and amplify these voices, helping shape a more ethical, inclusive and culturally grounded psychedelic landscape.

BCSP

Do you see multimedia/social media posts playing a different role than traditional media in shaping public understanding and engagement in the psychedelic landscape?

Solei Sarmiento

Social media plays a distinct role in shaping public understanding by enabling direct engagement, interactive dialogue and broad accessibility. I believe that it has a unique way of fostering conversation and community. In the psychedelic space, dominant narratives often prioritize scientific or legal frameworks, sidelining traditional knowledge and relegating the sacred, lived traditions of Indigenous communities to merely “a folkloric experience.” Through this media project, we aimed to counter that mindset by highlighting traditional knowledge systems as central—not peripheral—to understanding these medicines and imagining how the movement might evolve.

Because Indigenous perspectives have often been underrepresented on social media due to technological, accessibility and cultural barriers, we believe that amplifying their voices can meaningfully shift how the public perceives these traditions, bringing them closer and demystifying them in ways that even traditional media often cannot.

At the same time, these perspectives must contend with the realities of the digital landscape: noise, polarization and heightened risks of misrepresentation, especially in an era of AI-generated content. Our project asks: How can sacred knowledge be shared online without flattening its depth?

Despite the limitations of shorter-form content, social media remains a powerful entry point, one that can spark curiosity, inspire ethical reflection and create space for respectful engagement. Its visual, narrative and experiential forms invite a level of relational learning that traditional media alone rarely achieves.

BCSP

How do you work to create educational, balanced and ethical content while engaging audiences on controversial or misunderstood topics?

Solei Sarmiento

We approach this work by leaning into nuance rather than avoiding it. Bridging Indigenous and Western epistemologies is challenging given the legacy of pain and distrust. One of our guiding principles is approaching the work without a predetermined agenda—staying as faithful as possible to the messages and intentions of elders and collaborators. Media can serve as a bridge when crafted with care, collaboration and feedback. This process also involves acknowledging and unweaving colonized patterns in our own thinking and practice, ensuring the content fosters understanding without reinforcing harmful structures.

BCSP

What multimedia project (or creator) has moved you lately, in the psychedelic space or otherwise?

Solei Sarmiento

The recently released documentary Cobra Canoa, about Alvaro Tukano, one of the elders we worked with, beautifully demonstrates how to document living Indigenous traditions while honoring their depth and vibrancy. Directed by Enio Staub, it is an inspiring example of ethical storytelling. Outside the psychedelic space, I am drawn to @nowness on Instagram, which collaborates with global artists to communicate the beauty and complexity of the everyday through visual storytelling. I am inspired by creators who weave together intricate narratives through beauty, curiosity and ethical care, unafraid to engage with nuance.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Social Media Fellow Q&As: Charlotte James

Posted on January 8, 2026January 8, 2026

image of Charlotte James with orange background

Q&A with Charlotte James

Charlotte Duerr James is a visionary healer, ceremonial facilitator and founder of New Old Ways, a multidimensional learning space where ancestral wisdom, psychedelic ritual and collective liberation intersect. Rooted in both academic inquiry and embodied practice, Charlotte designs transformational experiences that honor intergenerational complexity and invite communities to heal across divides. Her work bridges lineages, identities and modalities, always with reverence, relationality and a deep belief in our shared power to remember, reconnect and reimagine. You can see her work from the fellowship at @newold.ways.

BCSP

What motivated you to apply for this fellowship? How does your personal background or lived experience inform your interest in psychedelic storytelling?

Charlotte James

Afro-diasporic stories and experiences of healing are so frequently left out of the mainstream psychedelic conversation. This often means that the medicines are not reaching our communities because we do not see ourselves included in the conversation about how these medicines, which frequently come from our own forgotten or rejected traditions, can support our healing. I see this as a continuation of the colonial project in which medicines are extracted from Indigenous peoples and cultures, but then monetized in a way that is largely un-accessible for the descendants of these Indigenous cultures.

I was interested in highlighting how sacred Earth medicines and psychedelics can offer us a window into a different narrative about ourselves, our origins and our capacities than has been fed to us for many generations.

BCSP

Tell us about your Mycoskie-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Social Media Fellowship project. What was your favorite part of the project? Did you learn anything that surprised you?

Charlotte James

My project is titled AfroPsychedelia and highlights the contributions of Afrodiasporic traditions and practitioners to contemporary psychedelic knowledge and practice. My intention was to create content that speaks directly to the Afrodiasporic experience and how working with sacred Earth medicines, which are a part of our ancestral traditions and technologies, can serve as a buoy while we traverse the sea of collective collapse, death and rebirth that we are in. Moreover, I was interested in highlighting how sacred Earth medicines and psychedelics can offer us a window into a different narrative about ourselves, our origins and our capacities than has been fed to us for many generations. This campaign was a practice of colonial deconstruction. My favorite part was creating the graphics, as this is one form of my own creative expression and storytelling.

My research for the campaign made it even clearer to me how prevalent entheogens are within African traditional religions and spiritual lineages. We’ve just been quite intelligent and strategic about keeping them part of closed practice.

BCSP

Do you see multimedia/social media posts playing a different role than traditional media in shaping public understanding and engagement in the psychedelic landscape?

Charlotte James

I’m not sure I do, because of the widespread censorship that is happening around psychedelics on social media. It’s fascinating to watch large companies talking about breakthrough treatments and the medicalization of tradition without issue, while community care workers and practitioners have to jump through semantic hoops just to avoid being shadow-banned.

BCSP

How do you work to create educational, balanced and ethical content while engaging audiences on controversial or misunderstood topics?

Charlotte James

Nothing is going to speak to everyone, so my focus has really been on offering content that appeals to those who may already feel the call towards these medicines or who are at least open-minded and curious. I’ve also been offering a balance of more clinically leaning content, which is backed by research around the role psychedelics can play in healing identity- and race-based trauma, and more ancestrally rooted knowledge, with an infusion of personal storytelling from members of my communities that have experienced the healing power of these ancient medicines.

BCSP

What multimedia project (or creator) has moved you lately, in the psychedelic space or otherwise?

Charlotte James

Sita Ji has been activating her medicine community in Jamaica, the Medicine Family Gathering, to become a network of mutual aid and community care in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. I am endlessly inspired by her resiliency and continued sharing and storytelling of the very real impact that natural disaster has on people and place, and the ways in which connection to the medicine is enhanced when it’s truly integrated into a community.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Putting Ethics and Public Engagement at the Center of Psychedelics Exploration

Posted on December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

Participants discuss ethics in psychedelic basic science research at the workshop.

Berkeley, CA – Dec 16, 2025 — Scientific research is always a reflection of the world around it—our history, our values and our people. That is why researchers must do more than just observe; they must constantly look inward. Integrating ethics means practicing humility and accountability every day. It means asking: Does this work promote equity? Is it mutually beneficial?

This is critical in psychedelic science. As interest in psychedelics explodes, researchers on the cutting edge face unique ethical dilemmas. To move forward responsibly, they must ensure that the excitement for discovery is matched by a commitment to doing right by the community.

The BCSP’s core values inform work at the center. Within basic science, journalism, community-building, applied research and policy, the BCSP’s staff ask questions and support each other as they figure out how ethical and values-driven principles can be integrated directly into their work and the work of others in the field of psychedelic science.

On November 7, 2025, the BCSP and the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public gathered 38 participants for a first-of-its-kind workshop designed specifically for psychedelic basic scientists: researchers who investigate the biological mechanisms of action of psychedelics. Organizers hoped to ask, how do diverse perspectives and disciplines shape psychedelic inquiry for basic research? How do incentive structures and operational environments shape research priorities in basic science? How can researchers make sure they’re doing research with communities and not just about them? How might needs, values, and insights from other disciplines and perspectives also shape basic science? How do those in the psychedelic field understand and integrate values such as equity, reciprocity and humility into their work?

“Unlike applied research, basic science research is often oriented towards discovery and foundational knowledge, rather than in direct response to a societal problem,” said Kuranda Morgan, strategy director and civic science fellow at the BCSP, who co-led the workshop alongside Jen Holmberg and Leana King, both neuroscience PhD students and graduate fellows at the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public. “So how do we think about ways that neuroscience can be values-led, culturally attuned, and community-responsive when it can feel more upstream from the problems that society is experiencing?”

Being: Reflexivity in Research

How does one’s own disciplines affect them? How does background shape which issues someone is interested in, their methodologies and their audiences?

When talking about values-led work—and inviting lived experiences and community perspectives to influence that work—it’s important to examine one’s own history and training. That’s why the BCSP began the workshop by establishing context. Sylver Quevedo, who is the scientific director and chair of the board of directors for the Open Mind Collective, a faculty member at the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and a principal investigator in an FDA trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, provided theoretical grounding for the day’s discussion, orienting attendees to the strengths of different disciplines, both research that’s driven by the scientific method and research that’s driven by narrative and personal experience.

Next, participants wrote down one of their own values—humility, curiosity and creativity were stand-outs—and considered how it showed up in their work.

Participants shared their values and the ways they show up in their work

Becoming: Exploring psychedelic inquiry through different disciplines

What new opportunities emerge when different ways of knowing work together? What’s the impact of exploring (or not exploring) perspectives from disciplines different from one’s own?

Background, both professional and personal, shapes how researchers approach their work—which is part of why it’s so meaningful to learn from each other’s work in various disciplines. To that end, participants heard from three different speakers about how they view psychedelic inquiry.

Dr. Heather Kuiper, co-founder and director of the Center for Psychedelic Public Health, spoke about how to approach psychedelic inquiry as a public health issue, related to social and community health. If researchers think about psychedelics as potentially improving outcomes, then how can they establish equity within and across the research process?

Dr. Diana Negrín, a geographer and curator with a focus on identity, space and social movements in Latin America and the United States, explored how geographic, historic and sociocultural contexts shape how plant medicines are stewarded and used. As psychedelics continue to become more mainstream, how do researchers acknowledge how their growing popularity shapes the communities and geographies that they come from? How can researchers reflect on the role of their work in changing relationships between communities and the land?

Marlena Robbins, the program coordinator for the Indigenous Student Research Fellowship at the BCSP and a DrPH candidate at UC Berkeley, spoke about Indigenous knowledge as science. How can researchers respect and learn from Indigenous research ethics, including relational accountability, reciprocity, kinship and trust? What is the importance of cultivating a relationship with the plants themselves?

In breakout groups, participants discussed ethical tensions that came up in their work. Then, each group worked through one dilemma: What are the historical contexts, and forms of insight might add to it? What would it look like if the ethical dilemma was addressed, and what would be the adverse effect if it wasn’t?

“We went through the process of collective sense-making: studying a problem, how it manifests, and what it might look like to have it solved, with people who are different from you,” said Morgan. “That builds a cultivated awareness, which can inform how you think about administering a sacrament or diversifying your research study participants.”

Together, workshop attendees brought together those “flowers” to create a garden of ethical dilemmas.

An example of an ethical dilemma explored in break-out groups

Participants created a garden of ethical dilemmas to learn about how others are navigating tensions in their work

Belonging: Approaches to ethics and engagement

What does it look like to be inclusive in a research practice? What approaches can successfully advance interdisciplinary work?

How others bring their backgrounds to their work can broaden one’s understanding of psychedelic inquiry—and lead to collaboration, both with other researchers and with subjects of research. The organized asked three speakers to discuss engaged medical research and how to pursue interdisciplinary work in the psychedelic field.

Dr. Lea Witowsky, executive director of the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at UC Berkeley, spoke about three projects that bridge science and society: the Kali Center graduate fellowship, which provides graduate students with ethical training; an event that bridged perspectives between the autism community (care-givers and self-advocates) and scientists studying autism; and an art residency focused on visualizing genetic data in textiles.

Dr. Brian Anderson, a psychiatrist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and an associate clinical professor at the UCSF School of Medicine, spoke about how he co-designed a study about demoralization from long-term AIDS diagnosis with the community he researched, focusing on increasing connection through group therapy and dealing with trauma that didn’t qualify as PTSD through psilocybin therapy. Anderson shared how conversational spaces like town halls can steer research questions.

Dr. Bryan Howard, a co-founder of Oakland Hyphae, the first industry-recognized psychedelic testing lab, talked about the importance of trials outside of an academic setting to understand the potency and experiences of various psychedelic substances.

Moving forward

At the end of the workshop, participants gathered together to reflect on what they learned and specific actions that they could take to further develop ethical frameworks in their own research.

“The BCSP is really unique, in that we have these different disciplines: journalism, basic science, applied research, and convenings and events,” says Morgan. “Values-led ways of working are at the core of the BCSP’s identity, and we’ll continue thinking about how to imbue engaged practices, right relationship, cultural attunement and values into our work.” The workshop was a meaningful way to have those conversations—and just the beginning.