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Nice modern history and overview of the science of consciousness: scientificamerican.com/artic…
“Reconstruction” is moving fast - the K01 I’m submitting this month proposes to apply it to patients with disorders of consciousness, but where else should (and shouldn’t we) point this spyglass?
technologyreview.com/2026/10…
It feels like creation, especially in creating a new song or melody, is the reciprocal gift in return for creation, of being made alive.
Eydie London was the best mentor whose lab I never had the pleasure to work in - an inspiring speaker and major force in the neuroscience of addiction, you will be missed
Excited to be the course instructor for Neurophilosophy @UCLA
The foundational Neurophilosophy textbook (MIT Press) is from 1986.
I’m inspired to begin writing a modern text for the course. What themes are can’t-miss 40 years later?
Conor Murray retweeted
For 50 years the National Institute on Drug Abuse has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to find an effective cocaine addiction medication. After 100+ molecules & many hundreds of studies nothing has been FDA approved. It's the Holy Grail of addictions medication. Proud to have helped Peter Hendricks & team at UAB in a trial showing psilocybin to treat cocaine addiction.
Conor Murray retweeted
Check out the latest DPN Deep Dive!
This episode covers a recent study by @conormurray, Kaihan Danesh, & @zivacooper using mobile EEG devices to track putative biomarkers of cognitive and emotional wellbeing in people who use cannabis.
youtu.be/IFfxen0LTaU?si=rhlN…
New cannabis paper: we focused on key age groups to track recent trends in cannabis use and reviewed health effects on brain and behavior across the lifespan — is the public becoming more health conscious about cannabis use? liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/2…
New paper! @UCLACannabis
Using mobile EEG, we looked at markers of brain health in 140 individuals who use cannabis.
Findings point to an “arrested development” of prefrontal function in young men, translating preclinical work by Kuei Tseng.
nature.com/articles/s44277-0…
Breaking down our analysis of altered states of consciousness (ASC) and effort to empirically test “mind-manifesting” effects…🧵
akjournals.com/view/journals…
3.ASC that are perceived as containing “authentic” observations/insights are also perceived as being more positive. Illusion/delusion/hallucination = negative experience, generally.
I’ve really enjoyed lecturing at UCLA, from the risks of cannabis use to the potential for “psychedelics” in psychiatry. 🧠
Last week, a lecture in the law school. Next month, a sociology seminar titled Psychedelic Science: The Discovery of Mind Manifestation to Western Society
Conor Murray retweeted
I really appreciate all of the kind messages and concern.
But don’t worry about me, or my animals, and certainly not my house. I would rather you focus all of your thoughts on these heroic firefighters and first responders who are fighting an impossible battle around the clock.
Is there a good review paper/reference on how the word “psychedelic” has been used in science over time? A noticeable shift from a class of hallucinogenic drugs to a class of serotonergic drugs, from an experience (e.g., stimulant/sedative) to systems (e.g., cannabinoid/opioid)
The shift is understandable given that we can test 5-HT2A activity more reliably than we can test “mind-manifesting” activity and 5-HT2A agonists seem worthy of the name, at least until we have a philosophy and science of mind that can support the claim that “psychedelics” exist.