Today on the Mushroom Hour Podcast we are blessed to speak with Manoj Doss. Manoj is a cognitive neuropsychopharmacologist at the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University. His research is at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology with focuses on episodic memory and hallucinogenic drugs. Manoj utilizes complex cognitive paradigms, brain imaging, and computational modelling to explore what makes psychedelics unique compared to other classes of psychoactive drugs, both in terms of basic drug effects and mechanisms for treating clinical populations. Although Manoj is optimistic that psychedelics will soon have a place in psychiatry, he remains cautious of exaggerated claims and negligence to potential downsides, something he terms 'psychedelic myopia’.

TOPICS COVERED:

Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychopharmacology
Psychedelic Neuroscience
Types of Memory - Episodic, Semantic, Procedural
Parts of the Brain - Hippocampus, Neocortex
Recollection vs Familiarity
Psychedelics Impacting Memory through Familiarity
Is Memory Stored in Parts of the Body Other than the Brain?
How Do We Make False Memories?
Debunking the “Default Mode Network” Narrative
Psychedelic Science and Incorporating Existing Scientific Disciplines
Showing Psychedelics are Actually Useful in Treating Any Disorders
Commentary on Structuring Psychedelic Research
Future of Psychedelic Therapy as Adjunct to Existing Therapies?
Tempering Conclusions and Expectations from Psychedelic Research

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Manoj Doss Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManojDoss
Manoj Doss Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manoj-Doss
Manoj Doss @ Johns Hopkins: https://hopkinspsychedelic.org/doss
John O'Keefe Nobel Prize work on Hippocampal place cells: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04913-9
Doss et al paper on reward dynamics: http://dml.ucdavis.edu/uploads/6/1/9/7/61974117/gruber_ritchey_wang_doss_ranganath_2016.pdf
Default Mode Network Hypothesis: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00020/full
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story by Alexander Shulgin: https://www.amazon.com/Pihkal-Chemical-Story-Alexander-Shulgin/dp/0963009605
Janice Chen paper on shared experience: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=mOwF8UEAAAAJ&citation_for_view=mOwF8UEAAAAJ:M05iB0D1s5AC
Marc Berman paper on benefits of interacting with nature: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Ep. 151: Neuroscience, Memory and Psyche...