There’s a fascinating scientific experiment going on just a few miles from where I live. A group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison wants to find out what happens when you inject a psychedelic drug into a person who’s in deep sleep. Will they feel better – more joyful, maybe even with a new reverence for life - once they wake up? Or will nothing change since they won’t remember the experience?
The results of this study could shape the psychedelic field for years to come. Clinical trials have shown that psychedelics can have profound benefits for treating depression and anxiety. And the psychedelic industry – with start-up companies pouring millions of dollars into new drug development – is poised to explode. But there’s a huge question at the center of it all. No one is quite sure why psychedelics have such a remarkable capacity to transform people’s lives. Is it because of the mind-blowing trip? Or the drug that’s rewiring the brain?
And that sleep study? Researchers first had to figure out how to inject psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – into people without waking them up. It wasn’t easy! We tell this story in the new episode of Luminous, our series on the science and philosophy of psychedelics. And I have my own question: What kinds of crazy dreams will they have with those powerful molecules shooting through their brains?
– Steve