Cinco Sins of Psychedelic Research
Abstract
In this lecture, Manoj Doss addresses the "Cinco Sins of Psychedelic Research," highlighting methodological concerns and biases, including those stemming from self-experimentation and researchers' personal drug experiences. Advocating for a closer integration of cognitive psychology and neuropharmacology, he calls for empirical approaches to study psychedelics' effects on cognition and memory. Doss's critique underscores the importance of behavioral measures to advance a scientific understanding of psychedelic substances.
Speakers
Dr. Manoj Doss is a cognitive neuropsychopharmacologist in the Department of Psychiatry and the Center for Psychedelic Research & Therapy at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. He received a bachelor's from The University of Texas at Austin, a master's from University College London, post-baccalaureate training from University of California, Davis, a doctorate from University of Chicago, and postdoctoral training at the Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before returning to UT Austin. Dr. Doss is broadly interested in the acute and persisting effects of psychoactive drugs on cognition and brain function with focuses on hallucinogens and episodic memory. He utilizes complex cognitive paradigms, neuroimaging, and computational modeling to explore what makes 5-HT2A psychedelics unique compared to other classes of psychoactive drugs in terms of their basic effects and their therapeutic mechanisms.