Ep. 596 – Psychedelics: A Master Key to Rewiring the Brain with Gül Dölen

May 30, 2025

Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist at UC Berkeley, dives deep into the transformative potential of psychedelics in this engaging discussion. She explains how psychedelics can reopen critical learning periods in the brain, helping to reshape harmful patterns and heal trauma. Gül shares fascinating insights from animal studies, including octopuses, that suggest new pathways for understanding human behavior. The conversation also highlights the importance of mindful integration and mystical practices to support this healing process, presenting psychedelics as a groundbreaking tool for mental health.

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INSIGHT

Objective Psychedelic Research in Animals

Psychedelic effects can be studied objectively in animals by focusing on molecular and behavioral markers rather than subjective experiences.
Octopus responses to MDMA suggest conserved serotonin mechanisms across species, revealing deep evolutionary roots of social behavior.

ANECDOTE

Childhood Wonder Leads to Science

Gül Dölen's childhood fear of sea urchins at a Turkish beach turned to fascination thanks to her zoologist grandmother.
This moment sparked her lifelong curiosity about the strange and wonderful aspects of the natural world.

INSIGHT

Octopus Sociality Mystery

Octopuses are uniquely asocial despite being cephalopods, which are often social species.
This unusual behavior suggests specific evolutionary pressures favoring solitary lifestyles in octopuses.

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Neuroscientist Gül Dölen explores how psychedelics paired with mindful integration can reopen the brain’s sensitive learning windows to rewire habits, heal trauma, and expand consciousness.

Join the 2025 MAPS conference this June in Denver, Colorado and be a part of the movement that will shape the next era of mental health, medicine, and consciousness. MAPS, The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, is a nonprofit organization that provides public resources and leadership as we work together to create legal, responsible, evidence-based pathways to psychedelics. Learn more about the conference and use the coupon code LSRF15 for a special promotion at https://www.psychedelicscience.org

In this episode of Mindrolling, Gül and Raghu chat about:

Gül’s research on psychedelics and how we can translate animal studies into human neuroscience
Looking to Octopuses for sociological answers using MDMA
Critical periods—windows when the brain is most open to learning and environmental influence.
Psychedelics as the master key to reopening critical periods, especially when paired with therapy
Inducing metaplasticity with psychedelics, reshaping harmful patterns, and promoting transformation.
Non-substance methods to reopen critical periods, like sensory and social deprivation
How mystical practices such as meditation and silent retreats can trigger a “beginner’s mind” state for deep insights
How psychedelics propose a learning model rather than a biochemical imbalance model towards approaching depression, addiction, or PTSD
Focusing on post-trip integration to harness long-term benefits from the psychedelic experience
Maximize the integration period to cement insights gained during psychedelic journeys
The social and psychological changes we go through as we age and adapt to new environments/situations
The importance of “set and setting” and how it can influence psychedelic experiences and the formation of helpful or harmful habits

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About Gül Dölen:

Dr. Gül Dölen is a Professor and the Bob & Renee Parsons Endowed Chair in the Department of Neuroscience, and Department of Psychology, the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Dölen also maintains an Adjunct Professorship in Neuroscience and Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine. Dr. Dölen researches the role psychedelics may have in unlocking critical periods in Dölen Lab. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards.

“It turns out that our results really suggest that psychedelics are those master keys that we have been looking for all this time.” – Gül Dölen

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