"Dear Humanity," a Lovecast with Laura Dawn This is Your Brain on Psychedelics with Psychedelic Neuroscientist Manesh Girn - 5
Want to understand what’s happening in the brain when under the influence of psychedelics? The default mode network (DMN) is receiving a lot of attention these days, but what do we really know about what the science is saying in terms of how psychedelics influence the DMN, and how can we use that information to catalyze change in our lives?
In this conversation, Psychedelic Neuroscientist Manesh Girn breaks down the neuroscience of psychedelic states and distinguishes fact from fiction.
In this conversation Manesh Girn explores:
- How the DMN sits at the top of all 7 brain networks and creates models of reality that we hold onto that can keep us stuck within limiting narratives and belief systems.
- How we "see what we believe" and continue to perpetuate limiting beliefs, from the perspective of the predictive coding model of the brain.
- How psychedelics support neuroplasticity.
- The importance of daily practice to allow altered states to transmute into altered traits.
- The difference between cognitive flexibility and psychological flexibility.
- How psychedelics can support creative thinking, and the underlying mechanisms for which they do that.
- The overlap in the research between meditation and psychedelics.
- How psychedelics influence the shift in alpha brainwaves and how this likely influences the DMN.
- His perspective on how psychedelics can be a powerful tool for helping to steer humanity’s ship in a better direction.
- How his psychedelic research has directly impacted his life and perception of reality.
Manesh Girn Biography
Manesh Girn is a Neuroscience PhD student at McGill University and has been lead or co-author on over a dozen scientific publications and book chapters on topics including psychedelics, meditation, daydreaming, and brain networks. Manesh currently has ongoing collaborations with Robin Carhart-Harris and others at the Imperial College Center for Psychedelic Research and is investigating the brain changes underlying psilocybin, LSD, and DMT. He has had a passionate interest in psychedelics and their scientific investigation since his teens and also runs a YouTube channel called Psychedelic Science that provides accessible discussions of the latest research findings.
Follow him on YouTube & Instagram
Research Papers Cited:
- Updating the dynamic framework of thought: Creativity and Psychedelics
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics
Helpful Articles & Guides
- Change Your Story, Transform Your Life: How Psychedelics Can Help You Re-define Your Life for the Better
- A Complete Guide to Fostering Cognitive Flexibility and How Psychedelics Can Help
- How Psychedelics Can Help Support Your Creative Process
- This Amazing Idea Came to Me While On Psychedelics, Should I Act On It?
- A Comprehensive Guide to Psychedelic & Plant Medicine Integration
Click here to access the full episode transcript and list of resources
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