PsychRounds: The Psychiatry Podcast Psych Congress Series: Psychedelics, Consciousness, and Buddhist Practices with Dr. Charles Raison
Aug 20, 2025
In this conversation, Dr. Charles Raison, a prominent psychiatrist and researcher, dives into the fascinating intersection of psychedelics and consciousness. He discusses innovative treatments for depression, including whole-body hyperthermia and Tibetan Buddhist practices like tummo. Raison examines the evolution of consciousness, the influence of technology on mental health, and how psychedelics can enhance neuroplasticity and memory. Listeners will discover the promising potential of integrating ancient practices with modern science.
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Test Effects While People Are Unconscious
- Test causality by removing conscious awareness during dosing, e.g., with anesthesia or sleep.
- Raison plans randomized IV psilocybin while asleep vs awake to separate experience from drug effects.
Memory Salience Predicts Lasting Benefit
- Memory salience appears crucial: erasing the memory or its salience reduces benefit.
- Midazolam diminished memory salience and subsequent wellbeing after psilocybin in Raison's pilot study.
Reinforce Dosing Memory To Extend Gains
- Try reinforcing the post-dosing memory to deepen benefit, e.g., pairing vagus nerve stimulation.
- Raison will randomize post-psilocybin vagus stimulation versus sham to 'burn in' the experience.
