Horizons 2015: FREDERICK BARRETT, Ph.D “Psilocybin, Meditation, Mystical Experiences, and the Brain”

SYNOPSIS: There are many paths up the same mountain. Comparing notes from different paths may tell us something about the journey. Two paths up the mountain (via either meditation or psychedelics) may share some striking similarities. I will discuss preliminary findings and possible implications of a groundbreaking study that uses behavioral and brain imaging techniques to investigate mystical experiences encountered with meditation and psilocybin. I will also provide a brief update of current programs of research with psychedelics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

FREDERICK BARRETT, Ph.D.
Faculty Member in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

BIOGRAPHY: Frederick Barrett is a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed graduate studies in cognitive neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, where he used computational models of music cognition to study brain activity during music-evoked emotions, memories, and spiritual experiences. He received training in the behavioral pharmacology of classic hallucinogens as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Roland Griffiths at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Fred is currently collaborating on a number of behavioral, cognitive, and brain imaging studies of the effects of hallucinogenic substances including psilocybin.

Horizons: Perspectives on Psychedelics is an annual forum that examines the role of psychedelic drugs in science, medicine, culture and spirituality.
More information at HorizonsNYC.org