iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Amazing recognition for a remarkable advancement that has fueled modern neuroscience. Congrats to all!

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Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Schmitt: Did you attend a concert wearing an anti-Trump shirt? Smith: I wore a “No Kings” shirt. It used to be a bipartisan American sentiment.

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Chaz Firestone @chazfirestone.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Out today! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

it is unknown whether high doses of THC lead to the re-opening of critical periods

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Indeed - these are reported in the paper. Similar ratings were provided between multiple THC conditions and 25 mg psilocbyin on the mystical experience questionnaire and the altered states of consciousness questionnaire.

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Whether or not THC has neuroplastogenic effects is a separate issue from whether it can help address acute functional unblinding. If the right dose of THC can be mistaken for a classic psychedelic under the right conditions, participants may remain blind to their acute dosing conditions.

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

no idea yet - I'm not aware of anyone that really expects this yet, but it will be tested. The question of whether "the trip" is "the treatment" essentially boils down to this. My intuition is that both are necessary (the "trip", and the molecular action of psychedelics)

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Reposted by Fred Barrett

Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Center @jhpsychedelics.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What should clinicians know about psychedelic-assisted treatments? Join our online CME/CE course for an evidence-based introduction to psychedelic medicine covering patient engagement, emerging research, and the future of psychedelic-assisted care. Register: hopkinscme.cloud-cme.com/course/cours...

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

i think you nailed it. I’ve always thought that folks see the value of LinkedIn as being overly polished and professional, but necessarily lacking the grit and grind of twitter and other platforms.

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

any suggestions for key papers?

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Thank you, @bita137.bsky.social: you've unlocked the next few weeks of my academic diet!

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Grateful to co-authors Ryan Vandrey, David Wolinksy, Kristy Arthur, Zach Daily, and Joseph Ciancio, as well as study participants and research staff @jhpsychedelics.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1... 14/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Confirming THC as an active comparator that evokes mystical experiences (likely through dissociable molecular mechanisms in the brain) may also give us the chance to disentangle whether the "trip" is truly the "treatment" 13/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This is a very small pilot, so caution is essential. But if these findings replicate, they could matter both for improving psychedelic clinical trial design and for understanding how cannabinoids alter consciousness under specific contextual conditions. 12/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

It also puts data behind something that folks already have a general sense for: drug effects aren’t just pharmacology. Set and setting may substantially shape whether an experience is interpreted as “psychedelic-like.” 11/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This suggests that THC could potentially function as a more convincing active comparator in psychedelic trials than the usual options, which often fail to preserve blinding. 10/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In some cases, THC wasn’t even identified as a cannabinoid. Notably, 25 mg dronabinol was mistaken for a classic hallucinogen by both a psychedelic-naive participant and a psychedelic-experienced participant. 9/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The key preliminary finding: 25 mg oral THC produced subjective effects with notable overlap with 25 mg psilocybin. 8/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

In this pilot study, 4 healthy adults (2 w/o psychedelic experience, all with THC experience) completed double-blind sessions with placebo, psilocybin (25 mg), and oral THC (25 mg; 2 ppl also received 50 mg THC). THC was given as either dronabinol or cannabis distillate. 7/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

We asked whether high-dose oral THC might help address the psychedelic blinding problem — and more broadly, whether THC can produce psychedelic-like effects when administered in the context of a typical psychedelic session. 6/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Also, the timing of drug effects after high doses of oral THC closely match those of high-dose psilocybin, and some acute subjective effects of high-dose oral THC (disorientation, panic, paranoia, nausea) can be encountered with high-dose psychedelics 5/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

High doses of THC have been reported to evoke psychedelic-like and even mystical-like experiences (journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10...., journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....) 4/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

"Functional unblinding", or being able to guess what experimental condition you are in based on what you've experienced, makes it harder to separate true drug effects from expectancy effects in most psychedelic clinical trials 3/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Why this matters: psychedelic trials have a serious blinding problem. Participants and staff can often tell who got the psychedelic (or as @TheBorisLab likes to put it, “who got the good thing” or "who received the intervention that is expected to yield benefit") 2/14

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Excited to share our new paper in Psychopharmacology: A pilot study comparing high-dose oral Δ9-THC, psilocybin, and placebo under the same set and setting used in psychedelic clinical trials. @jhpsychedelics.bsky.social 🧵 link.springer.com/article/10.1... 1/n

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Adeel Razi @adeelrazi.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Our new paper in @natureportfolio.nature.com. Psychedelics don’t simply disorder the brain. We found hidden, context-sensitive organisation beneath the apparent chaos -- strongest in people reporting more positive, profound experiences and a reduced sense of separation from the world. 🧵👇

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

reality check #2: do prospective grad students really need to have co-authored papers to be competitive? perspectives have differed widely when sampling a few local colleagues. It's clear they can be helpful, but the question is whether they are truly necessary ...

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

reasonable question - folks in the US often take research assistant gigs between undergraduate and graduate school, or pursue a master’s degree before applying to PhD programs, and that’s where I believe the expected opportunities might lie

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

reality check: do prospective grad students really need to have first-authored papers to be competitive? perspectives have differed widely when sampling a few local colleagues. It's clear they can be sufficient, but the question is whether they are truly necessary ...

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

check out the first paper published in our “Lost Foundations” special issue of Psychedelic Medicine, by none other than the inimitable @alexkwan.bsky.social props to @nate-h-heller.bsky.social for the stellar idea for the issue, and editors Chuck Nichols and Peter Hendricks for the support!!

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

imo, our standing in the world was forever changed on presentation of the threat. the best we can do at this point is crisis management. but i’m not convinced of our capacity in that regard as a nation.

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

sidebar: puzzled that amplification from Mila Quebec suggested that psychedelics are being used or even vaguely considered for the treatment schizophrenia: x.com/Mila_Quebec/...

x.com

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Grateful to be involved in this important work. Props to Manesh Girn and Danilo Bzdok for leading! Hoping that folks read carefully and critically: notably, substantial between-drug differences challenge the primacy of "THE" psychedelic experience.

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Reposted by Fred Barrett

David Yaden @existwell.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Announcing a new Coursera on Psychedelic Science and Medicine! From @jhpsychedelics.bsky.social, it provides info on psychedelic science, history, risks, benefits, trials, neuro, & more. Taught by Drs. @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social, Garcia-Romeu, Nayak, Sayali, Tiwari, Yaden, & special guests-

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Hey BlueScienceSky ... what's up with Neurosynth? Is it dormant, hibernating, deprecated, or now fully unsupported? It's been a minute since I visited, and sorting by year in the "studies" page shows that the most recent study is from 2018. Help!

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Nate Heller @nate-h-heller.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

🧠 New Psychedelic Article in Schizophrenia Bulletin! We argue that visual hallucinations in psychedelics and Lewy body disease may share common mechanisms ⇒ visual degradation & cortical excitation. academic.oup.com/schizophreni... Excited to see this spark discussion! #Neuroscience #Psychedelics

academic.oup.com

Visual Hallucinations in Serotonergic Psychedelics and Lewy Body Diseases

AbstractBackground and Hypothesis. Visual hallucinations (VH) are a core symptom of both Lewy body diseases (LBDs; eg, Parkinson’s disease and dementia wit

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Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Center @jhpsychedelics.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

How do psychedelics help treat depression, anxiety, and addiction? In this #ECNP2025 preview, Drs. Linda Simmler and Frederick Barrett discuss psychedelic-induced plasticity with host Friederike Holze. 📅 See them live Oct 14, 2025, 8:40–10:00 🎧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FT2...

youtube.com

Psychedelics and plasticity: from synapses to cognition | 38th ECNP Congress preview

YouTube video by European College of Neuropsychopharmacology

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Today, Trump declared war on his own citizens, calling for U.S. cities to be used as “training grounds” for troops to confront what he called an “invasion from within.” Americans are a proud people, and no one (foreign or domestic) will threaten our home.

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Scott Thompson, PhD @sthom003.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Interested in bridging the translatability gap between mice and humans, specifically with regard to psychedelics? Have I got an opportunity for you! Join us for an interactive and stimulating pre-meeting before #SfN2025. @theborislab.bsky.social @bita37.bsky.social @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

great work with Megan Hosein, Zach Cordner, and the NNDC Task group on psychedelics and related compounds - grateful to co-chair with @TrishaSuppesMD

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Reposted by Fred Barrett

Alex Kwan @alexkwan.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Can’t believe #GRCPsychedelics is happening in two weeks! We reached capacity attendance – sorry we could not accommodate everyone. We look forward to seeing many of you at the meeting. w/ @vyazovskiy.bsky.social @viditavaidya.bsky.social @melissaherman.bsky.social

GRC Neurobiology of Psychedelics conference (July 13-18, 2025).

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BaltimorePsychedelic Society @bps920.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Pride isn’t a month it’s choosing authenticity every day. The rainbow flags represent decades of people who refused to hide. Your existence is already an act of courage. 🏳️‍🌈 Happy pride month !

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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Dear god let this man cook.

Pritzker: It’s time for us to be done with optimism about their motives. Time to stop wondering if you can trust the nuclear codes to people who don’t know how to organize a group chat. It’s time to stop ignoring the hypocrisy in wearing a big gold cross while announcing the defunding of children’s cancer research… Autistic kids and adults who are loving contributors to our society don’t deserve to be stigmatized by a weird nepo baby who once stashed a dead bear in his car. Our military service members don’t deserve to be told by a washed-up Fox TV commentator, who drank too much before being appointed Secretary of Defense, that they can’t serve their country simply because they are Black, gay, or a woman.

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Fred Barrett @fredbarrettphd.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

This. More of this. Much more of this. Thank you @vanhollen.senate.gov

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