Psychedelic Research and the Metaphysics of Mind

 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter

Dr Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes is a Philosopher of Mind and Metaphysics who specializes in fields pertaining to panpsychism, pantheism, mental causation, and altered states of consciousness through thinkers such as Whitehead, Spinoza, Nietzsche, and Bergson. Peter is a lecturer at The University of Exeter where he is a founder of EPIC – the Exeter Psychedelic Interdisciplinary Centre – and developer of its postgraduate courses in Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine, and Culture. He is co-director of Europe’s largest psychedelics conference, Breaking Convention, and the author of Noumenautics (2015), Modes of Sentience (2021), co-editor and contributor of Philosophy and Psychedelics (2022), Breaking Convention: Musings and Meditations on Psychedelia (2025), and author of Bloomsbury’s forthcoming book, The Psychedelics Manual: Metaphysics and Meaning, alongside numerous articles. As well as the TEDx Talker on ‘psychedelics and consciousness’, and speaker on the BBC’s show ‘The Trip’, Peter is an inspiration to the recreation of inhuman philosopher Marvel Superhero, Karnak. www.philosopher.eu

Beyond the Artist: Rethinking Creativity in Psychedelic Healing

Study Therapist, Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy (SNaP) Lab, Owner and Operator of Psychedelic Art Therapy LLC, Co-Founder of the Psychedelic Art Therapy Network (PATN)

Alyssa Gursky, LPC is a psychedelic art therapist and researcher, splitting their time between Portland, Oregon & Brooklyn, New York. They own Psychedelic Art Therapy LLC, offering creative and somatic approaches to individuals and groups exploring non-ordinary states and healing. They are trained in Ketamine, MDMA, and Psilocybin-assisted therapy. They are a researcher at the Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy Lab. They were a lead therapist on an MDMA-assisted group therapy trial with transgender adults and a co-therapist on psilocybin trials for Major Depressive Disorder. They co-founded the Psychedelic Art Therapy Network to build community & create scholarly discourse. They teach internationally on psychedelics, healing, and creativity.

Relational Mycology, Mezzodosing, & Intuitive Integration - Personalization, Sovereignty, and Self-Trust in Psilocybin Practice

Abstract: Psychedelic experiences are often discussed through the lens of dosage, set and setting, and clinical outcomes. Yet many individuals report consistent differences in how specific mushroom varieties are experienced, as well as significant variation in how people respond to similar doses under comparable conditions. This presentation explores three complementary frameworks developed through years of direct observation, facilitation, cultivation, and integration work: Relational Mycology, Mezzodosing, and Intuitive Integration. Relational Mycology examines the possibility that mushroom varieties may exhibit distinct experiential tendencies that can inform personalized approaches to psychedelic practice. Mezzodosing introduces a middle-dose framework that occupies the space between traditional microdosing and macrodosing, offering opportunities for insight, emotional processing, and self-exploration while maintaining a greater degree of engagement with ordinary awareness. Intuitive Integration emphasizes the cultivation of self-trust, embodied reflection, and personal sovereignty as essential components of meaning-making and long-term integration. Together, these frameworks propose that psychedelic work may benefit from greater personalization rather than standardized approaches alone. Drawing from community-based observations, cultivation experience, and hundreds of preparation, mushroom journeys facilitated, and integration conversations, this presentation invites participants to consider how individualized relationships with mushrooms, dosage, and integration practices can support harm reduction, self-awareness, and sustainable transformation. Attendees will be introduced to practical concepts and real-world examples that encourage curiosity, discernment, and a more nuanced understanding of psilocybin practice beyond one-size-fits-all models. 

BIO: Michou Olivera is a psychedelic educator, guide, mycologist, public speaker, and founder of the Western Massachusetts Psychedelic Society. Since 2020, she has supported individuals through mushroom cultivation, preparation, journey guidance, integration, and educational programs focused on personal sovereignty, harm reduction, and self-trust. Drawing from years of mushroom cultivation, direct experience, and community-based observation, Michou developed the framework of Conscious Flow Integration™, which features Relational Mycology, Mezzodosing, and Intuitive Integration as its core pillars. Her work explores individualized approaches to psilocybin practice, emphasizing experiential learning, intuitive discernment, and the unique ways people relate to psychedelic medicines. Michou hosts weekly Zoom integration gatherings, and leads local monthly community discussions centered on psychedelic education, safety, integration, and meaning-making. Through her private practice and community leadership, she continues to advocate for safe, accessible, relationship-centered approaches to psychedelic support. Her current work focuses on the development of Conscious Flow Integration™ (CFI™), an educational framework that integrates personalized psychedelic guidance, Relational Mycology, and long-term intuitive integration practices. 

Family Trip: Adolescent Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Context

🏆 PsychedelX 2026: RUNNER UP

Abstract: Mental health disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide, with approximately 75% originating during childhood and adolescence. Current first-line treatments, such as CBT combined with SSRIs for depression, leave roughly 55% of adolescents without adequate relief, placing them at risk for lifelong impairment. Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) has demonstrated promising outcomes in adult populations and is increasingly being considered for adolescent applications. However, existing protocols inadequately account for a defining feature of adolescent development: embeddedness within the family system. Drawing on the Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics (REBUS) theoretical model, this presentation argues that psychedelics may facilitate mental health improvement by reducing the predictive dominance of maladaptive beliefs, thereby allowing direct experience to revise and update those beliefs. Critically, this process of belief revision does not occur in isolation—it is shaped, constrained, or supported by the belief systems of those closest to the adolescent. Because adolescents have limited autonomy and remain heavily influenced by family dynamics, sustainable therapeutic change may require systemic-level intervention. This presentation proposes whole family PAT – in which all family members participate in the full psychedelic-assisted therapeutic process – as a theoretically grounded approach to adolescent mental health treatment. By simultaneously reducing belief rigidity across the family system and fostering authentic interpersonal connection, whole family PAT may create conditions for lasting, ecologically valid change. Future directions include partnering with Indigenous communities and underground practitioners, studying family outcomes in existing adult PAT trials, and designing empirical investigations of this novel approach.

BIO: Taylor A. Flatt is a PhD student at the Ohio State University and research assistant at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education. She is also a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Taylor is passionate about pediatric mental health and flourishing, and her research focus is on adolescent experiences with psychedelics as well as early parent-child relational health. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the University of Virginia and her Master’s in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. She has over 9 years of clinical experience working in pediatric psychiatry, spanning inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and medical settings. Taylor’s recent leadership roles include serving as IPN’s Director of Community, Co-Founder of the Penn Psychedelics Collaborative at the University of Pennsylvania, and member of the Board of Advisors for the Psychedelic Parenthood Community. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, painting, spending time in nature, and dancing.

Using Music in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in a Trauma-Informed and Culturally Humble Way

🏆 PsychedelX 2026: RUNNER UP

Abstract: It is likely that people seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) for the treatment of a mental health condition have experienced some form of traumatic event, which may arise in the session. Because PAT involves a high degree of vulnerability related to entering an altered state of consciousness, it is important for PAT practitioners to take a trauma-informed approach that fosters safety, trust, and empowerment for the person seeking care. Given that people from marginalized communities face higher mental health risks, it is also important that PAT practitioners practice cultural humility, which pairs well with a trauma-informed approach to provide truly client-centered care. Music is an important component of PAT, which has its own therapeutic benefits, as well as potential for harm if not approached in a trauma-informed and culturally humble way. This presentation provides an overview of a conceptual framework for a trauma-informed and culturally humble approach to the use of music in PAT, with the intent of starting a conversation about the development of best practices for its use in PAT. This will be followed by a brief discussion of possible areas for future research, including the author’s proposed dissertation further examining the use of music in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

BIO: Faith Halverson-Ramos is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Addiction Counselor, board-certified music therapist, and PhD candidate in Music Therapy at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She completed her training as a psychotherapist and music therapist at Naropa University in Boulder in 2007. As a working professional with almost 20 years of experience, Faith has worked with people throughout all phases of life, but currently focuses her work with adults looking to find meaning and purpose after experiencing a traumatic event or undergoing a life transition, and also provides preparation and integration services for people seeking psychedelic-assisted therapy. Trained from transpersonal, relational, and neurological approaches, Faith is interested in the therapeutic potential of music and expanded states of consciousness in facilitating individual and collective health and well-being. Active in the international music therapy community, she has presented nationally and internationally on topics related to music, spirituality, and transpersonal experiences, and has also contributed to publications on these topics.

When Psychedelics Leave the Lab: A Real-World Look at Psychological Distress Across Non-Users, Classic Psychedelic, and Multi-Psychedelic Users

Abstract: This study examined whether real-world psychedelic use is associated with differences in psychological distress. Although clinical trials suggest that psychedelics may help treat depression, PTSD, and other mental health conditions, these studies usually occur in controlled settings and often focus on one substance at a time. Real-world use is more complicated, as people may use multiple substances and differ in personal history, trauma exposure, and context. Because of this, the present study compared psychological distress across non-users, classic psychedelic users, and multi-drug psychedelic users. Data were collected through a large anonymous online survey with over 3,200 participants. Participants were separated into three groups: non-users, classic-only users, and multi-drug users. Psychological distress was measured using standardized tools, including the Perceived Stress Scale, the DASS-21, and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5. Analyses also controlled for demographic factors and personal history. Results showed that perceived stress differed between groups overall, but no specific group differences remained significant after post hoc analysis. Depression, anxiety, and stress scores on the DASS-21 did not significantly differ between groups. Age was one of the strongest predictors, with younger participants reporting higher distress regardless of psychedelic use. PTSD symptoms also did not differ between groups overall, but exploratory post hoc analysis suggested that multi-drug users reported higher PTSD symptoms than classic-only users. Overall, these findings suggest that classic psychedelic use alone was not associated with greater psychological distress in this sample. However, the relationship between trauma symptoms and polysubstance use may be important to examine further.

BIO: Ada Skinner holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology from Arizona State University and has been accepted into a graduate program in neuroscience. Her academic and research interests center on psychedelics, mental health, cognition, and trauma-related outcomes. At Arizona State University, Ada worked as a Research Assistant in the Brain, Epigenetics, and Altered States Research (B.E.A.R.) Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Candace Lewis and Dr. Sarah Mennenga. In this role, she contributed to research on psychedelic use, psychological distress, cognition, and altered states of consciousness, including work with large-scale survey data and participant recruitment. Ada also previously served as President of the Psychedelics Club at ASU, where she helped organize educational programming, harm reduction initiatives, and speaker events connecting students with researchers and professionals in the field. As she enters graduate training, Ada hopes to continue studying how psychedelic experiences relate to mental health, trauma, and individual differences in real-world settings.

Psychedelics in Motion: What Happens When Altered States Meet the Moving Body

Abstract: Interest in psychedelics has spread well beyond the clinic, yet almost no research has examined one of their more surprising frontiers: physical performance. Do psychedelics make us better athletes — or do they change how movement feels from the inside? To explore how people describe this themselves, I conducted a qualitative content analysis of Reddit discussions on psychedelics and sport or physical activity. A search for "sports psychedelics" returned 253 threads, of which 39 threads and their 290 comments met inclusion criteria. Eight content categories emerged: physical performance enhancement; flow state and automaticity; perceptual and cognitive enhancement; risks, limitations, and safety concerns; reduced fatigue and pain perception; microdosing as a strategy; psychological and emotional benefits; and fairness, ethics, and governance. Psilocybin and LSD were the most frequently mentioned substances. Across these accounts, enhanced physical performance was the most frequently described effect — users reported greater strength, speed, endurance, and overall capability during activity. Nearly as common were descriptions of flow and automaticity: a state of effortless, absorbed movement in which self-consciousness fell away. Users also pointed to sharper perception and focus, and to reduced pain and fatigue. Reports skewed positive overall, though a substantial share were mixed, raising concerns about overexertion, injury risk, impaired judgment, and fairness in competition. The pattern that emerges is striking: the gains people reported were consistently entangled with how the experience felt — attention, absorption, mind-body connection, and altered pain and effort. This suggests psychedelics may be best understood not only as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), but as potential-enhancing drugs that change the conditions for performance through experience itself. Whether these vivid first-person gains correspond to measurable improvement remains an open question — one that controlled research using objective performance measures will need to answer.

BIO: Zane Qarni is a researcher, writer, and psychedelic educator working at the intersection of psychology, consciousness studies, and psychedelic science, focused on how non-ordinary states expand what people are capable of. He earned his B.S. in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, where he founded and led the Psychedelic Club at UCSD, and is currently completing his M.A. in Psychedelics and Consciousness at the University of Ottawa. As a former competitive esports athlete, Zane brings a performer's interest in focus, flow, and peak states to his research. His current work examines first-person reports of psychedelics in physical activity and athletic contexts, asking how altered states may shape movement, performance, pain perception, and body awareness. In addition to his academic work, Zane has experience in psychedelic retreat operations, drug policy advocacy, and community education. He is also the founder of Fractal Path, which offers preparation, journey support, and integration coaching for people navigating psychedelic experiences.

From Mexico to Lesotho: Rethinking the Scope and History of Traditional Psychedelic Use

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis

Manvir Singh is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis and the author of Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (2025). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a PhD in human evolutionary biology from Harvard University. His research examines why human societies regularly develop strikingly similar complex cultural traditions, such as music, myth, shamanism, and beliefs in supernatural punishment. Since 2014, he has conducted long-term ethnographic research with Mentawai communities in Indonesia and more recently has studied psychedelic use in eastern Colombia. He is also a contributing writer to The New Yorker, where he covers history, evolution, and the mind.

Natasha Greenstein

Master’s Student at the Center for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain & The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), Novato, California, USA

Natasha studies the intersection of quantum physics, neural systems, and psychedelic science. After completing her bachelor's in physics at Princeton University, she is now in the last month of her master's in Brain and Cognition at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, following a collaboration on her senior thesis. Her current research spans a broad range of topics, with her master's thesis Congruent signatures of fractal criticality are reflected across quantum and cortical scales demonstrating how quantum information is propagated all the way to the whole brain level, both in resting and DMT states. Outside of research, Natasha enjoys spending time in nature, yoga, lifting, running, and jamming to music with friends.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-greenstein-31a405197/

Rafaelle Lancelotta, MS, LPCC, PhD(c)

PhD Candidate, The Ohio State University, Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education

Rafaelle Lancelotta, LPCC, is a PhD candidate at The Ohio State University College of Social Work, defending her dissertation in July 2026. Working with the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education, her research has focused on extrapharmacological factors in psychedelic-assisted therapy; particularly how relational and social contexts shape therapeutic outcomes in naturalistic and clinical settings. She has authored 25+ peer-reviewed publications since 2016 and presented internationally on psychedelic therapy, healthcare equity, 5-MeO-DMT, and the experiences of gender and sexual minority communities in psychedelic contexts. Rafaelle brings extensive clinical experience as a somatic-focused, trauma-informed therapist in private practice, including work on two psilocybin-assisted therapy trials with veterans with PTSD and patients with lung cancer.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelle-lancelotta/

Iva Totomanova, PhD(c)

PhD Candidate, Psychopharmacology Section at Maastricht University

Iva Totomanova is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology at Maastricht University. Her primary research interest lies in exploring the connection between the mind and the brain, and how pharmacological substances can  influence cognition, emotion, and behavior. In her work, Iva is investigating the potential of psychedelics to bring about these powerful transformations, and their possible clinical applications. She is currently focused on examining the capacity of low doses of psilocybin to alleviate symptoms of adult ADHD, and the mechanisms underlying this effect. Next to this, Iva is involved in a range of other projects exploring psychedelic microdosing and the factors that contribute to inter-individual differences in both microdosing practices and their subjective effects.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/iva-totomanova/

Utilizing Art Installations to Increase Accessibility to Conversations About Psychedelic Medicine 

Abstract: As psychedelics move onto the national stage through shifting legislation, federal research funding, and growing media coverage, the public conversation around them remains largely inaccessible. Scientific, academic, and ballot materials are written at reading levels that exclude most voters. The Massachusetts decriminalization measure rejected in 2024 received a Ballotpedia readability score indicating eighteen years of schooling would be needed to fully understand it. This gap leaves the public disconnected from a topic that will shape their healthcare, communities, and laws, and contributes to the failure of future legislation. This work asks how art can widen access to that conversation. I created a series of large-scale oil paintings paired with audio installations documenting couples' shared psychedelic experiences. The methodology combined thirty-minute interviews, reenactment photography, and edited audio segments, exhibited publicly to invite viewers regardless of background or knowledge about psychedelics. Choosing couples rather than individuals foregrounded the interpersonal and community-oriented dimensions of these medicines, echoing the indigenous traditions often omitted from contemporary research framing. Viewer responses ranged from deep personal resonance to first-time exposure. For those encountering psychedelics for the first time, the work offered a concrete experience to draw on when the topic reappears in headlines, conversation, or on a ballot. Several viewers reported intent to learn more after the exhibition. Art does not require specialized vocabulary or formal education to engage. By lowering the barrier to entry, arts-based approaches can reduce stigma, build foundational public knowledge, and empower individuals to participate in the legislation and discourse shaping the future of psychedelic medicine.

BIO: Aria Ma graduated from Tufts University with a BS in Biopsychology and a BFA in Studio Art, a pairing that shapes her interdisciplinary work at the intersection of psychedelic medicine and human connection. Her research focuses on the biomedical applications of psychedelics in inflammation, work she expanded on at the Psychedelic Research Summer School at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. In her studio practice, she creates large-scale oil paintings and installations that explore community and the intimate spaces we share with others. In 2025 she co-hosted an interdisciplinary research conference on psychedelics to open more public space for discussing legalization, and she has given a TEDx talk on the histories of psychedelics and why they matter as the conversation grows. Named to the Boston Business Journal's 25 under 25, Aria draws on her entrepreneurial background to think through how to responsibly scale access to psychedelic medicine as research advances. 

Psychedelics as Tools for Neuroaesthetics

🏆 PsychedelX 2026: RUNNER UP

Abstract: Psychedelics provide a unique way to study how people experience beauty because they temporarily change the brain systems involved in perception, emotion, and our sense of self. Others have suggested that aesthetic experiences may arise when the brain updates its understanding of the world. According to this view, the brain is constantly making predictions about what it expects to see and experience. When something unexpected happens, we become curious, explore it, and sometimes arrive at a new understanding. This process can feel rewarding and may be at the heart of many powerful aesthetic experiences. I propose psychedelics may amplify this process by altering brain dynamics, in turn making people more open to new perceptions, associations, and emotions. As a result, psychedelic experiences often involve seeing new patterns, finding deeper meaning in ordinary things, and creating artwork with richer colors, more complex forms, flowing shapes, geometric designs, and blurred relationships between objects and backgrounds. Changes in artistic behavior may directly correlate with an expanded range of creative possibilities. Furthermore, I suggest that creating art can be a valuable research tool alongside questionnaires. Art-making can capture aspects of inner experience that are difficult to describe in words, providing a more immediate and expressive window into how people think and feel during altered states of consciousness. Overall, this framework presents psychedelics as a useful tool for studying how the brain creates meaning, creativity, insight, and aesthetic experience.

BIO: Jake Hooper is a doctoral student in cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon and a Research Fellow at the Active Inference Institute. His work focuses on brain dynamics, psychedelics, active inference, neuroaesthetics, and the structure of the self. Drawing on his background as a lifelong visual artist, Jake is interested in how aesthetic experience can reveal general principles of cognition, perception, and emotion. He has published prior work on how psychedelics may alter predictive models of reality and intensify aesthetic experience. He is currently conducting empirical research using self-portrait drawing as a nonverbal behavioral assay of altered cognition and plans to expand his research scope into direct neuroimaging work on aesthetic experience and the self. In his free time, Jake enjoys reading, painting, exploring Oregon’s outdoors, skiing, and sharing good food, craft beer, and conversation with friends.

Acid Sacred: Acid Christians and the Re-Enchantment of the Divine

Abstract: Max Weber famously diagnosed the modern world as "disenchanted", a place where rationality has expelled the sacred. Yet, the human thirst for transcendence persists, driving a contemporary explosion of interest in psychedelics. While modern psychedelic research focuses almost exclusively on secular, clinical and therapeutic frameworks (such as treating PTSD or depression), it largely ignores individuals who report profound, explicitly religious experiences. This presentation explores the intersection of psychedelia and traditional faith within the context of post-secular Europe, based on an 18-month anthropological fieldwork underground in Italy. The study examines a small but significant population: practicing Christians who use substances like psilocybin or LSD and describe their experiences as genuine encounters with God. By finding experiential meaning in centuries-old texts through modern chemistry, they are rebuilding a bridge between body, mind and spirit, demonstrating that mystical experience requires a structured contemplative container to truly transform a religious life. 

BIO: Mirko Vercelli (b. 2000, Turin) is a cultural anthropologist, researcher and essayist working at the intersection of applied neuroscience, mindfulness and contemplative practices. He holds a Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Turin and a postgraduate diploma in the Neuroscience of Meditative Practices from the University of Pisa. He is a certified Mindfulness Basic Training (MBSR) Teacher Trainer and a Mindfulness Professional Trainer recognized by Federmindfulness. From 2020 to 2024, Mirko collaborated with the Sereno Regis Studies Center, developing non-formal education workshops on nonviolent debate and peacebuilding. His research and cultural essays focusing on contemporary alienation, internet culture and the communal dimensions of care have appeared in prominent Italian magazines such as Lucy, NOT (Nero Editions), and L'Indiscreto. He is the author of Memenichilismo (NovaLogos, 2024) and the co-creator of the multimedia auto-ethnographic project Gli strumenti della solitudine (2025). His work focuses on integrating embodied, performative art into modern frameworks of resilience and spiritual exploration. 

Awakening Polyphasic Consciousness through Dreaming and Psychedelics: Why Dreamwork Must Be A Part of the Psychedelic Movement

Abstract: Across Indigenous cultures around the world, dreaming and entheogenic practices have rarely been separated. Dreams guide the use of plant medicines. Plant medicines influence dreams. Together, they form a unified system for healing, knowledge, transformation, and relationship with the more-than-human world. Yet within contemporary Western psychedelic culture, these domains are often treated as separate phenomena. This presentation explores the possibility that modern culture has not only extracted psychedelic medicines from their ceremonial and cultural contexts, but has also extracted them from the dreaming traditions that historically accompanied them. Drawing from dream studies, transpersonal psychology, ecopsychology, anthropology, and Indigenous dream traditions, this presentation examines the relationship between dreaming and visionary medicine through the lens of polyphasic consciousness. It explores how many Indigenous cultures understand dreams, visions, and entheogenic experiences not as separate realities, but as interconnected expressions of a larger living field of consciousness. In contrast, modern Western culture has largely inherited a monophasic worldview that privileges waking rational consciousness while dismissing dreams, intuition, and visionary experience as less real or less valuable sources of knowledge. Through examples from Indigenous traditions, personal experience, and contemporary dream research, this presentation asks what may be lost when we separate the medicine from the dream. It proposes that dreamwork is not merely an adjunct to psychedelic practice, but an overlooked dimension of preparation, relationship, and integration. Dreams may continue conversations initiated in ceremony, deepen our relationship with visionary medicines, and provide an ongoing source of guidance long after the effects of a substance have subsided. Ultimately, this presentation invites participants to consider that dreaming and psychedelics are not separate pathways to consciousness, but intertwined expressions of the same visionary tradition. It suggests that by remembering the dream, we may recover a more participatory relationship with consciousness, the living Earth, and the mystery that speaks to us each night through the dream state.

BIO: Alexandra Carelli, MA is a PhD student in Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University, where her research explores dreaming as a pathway to belonging, transformation, and ecological reconnection. Her work bridges dream studies, ecopsychology, transpersonal psychology, and Indigenous dream traditions, with a particular interest in how dreams function as sources of guidance, healing, and relational intelligence within both individual and collective life. Her dissertation explores community-based dreamwork groups for couples and investigates how shared dream practices may cultivate intimacy, connection, and belonging in an increasingly disconnected world. Alexandra holds a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is the co-founder of ThetaSoma™, a transformational framework integrating somatic awareness, relational practice, and consciousness studies to reawaken animistic intelligence. As an artist, writer and dreamworker, Alexandra is particularly interested in the relationship between dreaming and visionary states of consciousness. Her work examines how modern Western culture has marginalized dreaming and what may be recovered through a renewed relationship with the dream realm. Drawing from anthropology, dream research, Indigenous cosmologies, and personal experience, she advocates for a more polyphasic understanding of consciousness that recognizes dreams, visions, and waking life as interconnected dimensions of a living reality. Alexandra lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California, where she writes, researches, and speaks on dreams, consciousness, and the reawakening of human-Earth relationships.

Unpacking microdosing: The disconnect between lived experience and empirical research

Abstract: Microdosing is the practice of consuming low doses of psychedelic substances such as psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA. The academic interest in microdosing began a decade ago, with initial research reporting qualitative perspectives within community-based samples. Since then, the interest in microdosing has continued to grow and a multitude of global observational studies have described various dimensions of naturalistic practices. Nevertheless, surveys over the years have consistently indicated that microdosing is an evolving practice, and real-world use continues to change. This talk discusses the various aspects of microdosing, including dosing regimens, substances being used, and set and setting during use, underscoring microdosing as a highly personalized practice which may not be easily replicated within traditional clinical trial designs.

BIO: Omer Syed is a PhD student within the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, he completed an MSc in Medical Science at the same department. He is also a senior research associate at the Pneuma Science Center for Psychedelic Research. Omer has conducted psychedelic research across preclinical, clinical, and naturalistic contexts, and currently focuses on the use of ketamine and psilocybin as interventional approaches for difficult-to-treat depression. He is interested in how extrapharmacological factors may influence the therapeutic effects of pharmacological treatments.

Classic Psychedelics and Mental Health: Neural Mechanisms and Therapeutic Promise

Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine

Paul S. Regier, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Center for Studies of Addiction. He received his BS in Psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. His research integrates brain imaging, neurocognitive assessments, and computational models to examine co-occurring issues like trauma, depression, and cognitive dysfunction in individuals with substance use disorder.  He is part of a team running two clinical trials at Penn to investigate psilocybin as a treatment for opioid-use disorder and oversees the neuroimaging and cognitive aspects of the trials.

Psychedelic Drug Action: Cell Types and Circuits

Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University

Alex Kwan, PhD is a Professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. He is broadly interested in the neurobiology of drugs for treating mental illnesses. His research has revealed how ketamine and psychedelics act in the brain to enhance neural plasticity. His lab is committed to open science by sharing data and code from its recent studies. Originally from Hong Kong, Alex received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys drinking a good cup of espresso and rock climbing with his kids.

Psychedelics, the Gut Microbiome, and Aging 

Abstract: Psilocybin has primarily been studied for its effects on mood, cognition, neuroplasticity, and mental health, but its broader systemic effects remain underexplored. One emerging area of interest is the gut microbiome, which plays a critical role in metabolism, immune function, inflammation, and gut–brain communication. Aging is associated with reduced microbial diversity, altered microbial composition, and increased inflammatory signaling, making the microbiome a potentially important target for understanding how psychedelics may influence aging-related biology. In this talk, I discuss research conducted through the Brain, Epigenetics, and Altered States Research Lab at Arizona State University examining whether psilocybin alters the gut microbiome in aged mice. Fecal samples were collected from 10–12-month-old C57BL/6J mice treated with either saline or psilocybin. Microbiome analysis revealed that psilocybin-treated aged mice showed increased alpha diversity, including higher Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, compared to controls. Psilocybin treatment was also associated with changes in microbial composition, including decreased Firmicutes and increased Bacteroidota, with some sex-specific effects observed. These findings suggest that psilocybin may influence the gut microbiome as part of a broader systems-level effect on aging-related biological processes. While further research is needed to determine whether these microbial changes are causal drivers or downstream consequences of psilocybin’s systemic effects, this work supports future investigation into psychedelic interactions with the microbiome, inflammation, metabolism, and aging. 

BIO: Jackson Parrish, MS, is a recent graduate of Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences, where he completed his Master’s in Biology with a research focus on psychedelics, aging, and the gut microbiome. His graduate research was conducted through the Brain, Epigenetics, and Altered States Research Lab at ASU and examined how psilocybin treatment affects gut microbial diversity and composition in middle-aged mice. Jackson is also the co-founder of both the Shroom Society at ASU and the Psychedelics Club at ASU, where he helped organize educational events, guest speakers, and student programming related to mycology, psychedelic science, and harm reduction. His broader interests include psychedelic science, aging biology, microbiome research, neurobiology, and the role of altered states in human health and development. 

Could Ketamine Play a Role in Treatment- Resistant Lyme Disease?

🥈PsychedelX 2026: SECOND PLACE

Abstract: Lyme disease affects nearly half a million Americans annually, and while some patients recover following standard antibiotic treatment, an estimated 20% continue to experience persistent symptoms including fatigue, pain, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression. Patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms often face significant challenges, including diagnostic uncertainty, limited treatment options, and ongoing functional impairment despite extensive conventional and integrative interventions. Currently, there is no widely accepted or consistently effective treatment for this population. As a functional medicine provider, I repeatedly encountered patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms who had exhausted conventional treatment options and continued to search for meaningful relief. This clinical reality prompted an exploration of novel therapeutic approaches capable of addressing the complex symptom burden associated with this condition. Ketamine has demonstrated efficacy across several domains commonly affected in persistent Lyme disease, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, neuroinflammation, and cognitive dysfunction. Emerging evidence suggests ketamine may influence neuroplasticity, glutamatergic signaling, central sensitization, and inflammatory pathways, providing a compelling rationale for further investigation within this population. Despite these potential mechanisms, ketamine has received little attention as a treatment option for patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms. This presentation explores the theoretical and clinical rationale for considering ketamine-assisted therapy in patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms. Through a review of relevant studies, proposed mechanisms of action, and a representative clinical case, attendees will examine whether ketamine may offer a novel approach for a patient population that frequently remains symptomatic despite conventional treatment. The presentation is intended to stimulate discussion, generate new clinical questions, and encourage future research into the role of ketamine in complex chronic conditions characterized by persistent suffering and limited therapeutic options.

BIO: Lauren Marchefka, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with expertise in integrative mental health, functional medicine, and ketamine-assisted therapy. She currently serves as Director of Nursing at West Eastern Health, where she helps develop innovative programs that integrate evidence-based psychiatry with personalized, whole-person care. Lauren's clinical interests include treatment-resistant depression, trauma, chronic pain, neuroinflammation, Lyme disease, Long COVID, and the intersection of metabolic, functional, and psychiatric medicine. She has extensive experience providing ketamine-assisted therapy through oral, intravenous, and intramuscular treatment models and has contributed to the development of clinical protocols, patient education programs, and innovative treatment pathways for complex patient populations. She has completed advanced training through the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research program and is trained in MAPS MDMA-assisted therapy protocols. Lauren is passionate about expanding access to innovative mental health treatments, and is particularly interested in exploring novel approaches for patients with chronic, treatment-resistant conditions who continue to struggle despite conventional care.

Psychedelics, Exercise, and Neuroplasticity: Exploring shared mechanisms and their potential role in adaptation, behavioural change and long-term wellbeing

🥇PsychedelX 2026: FIRST PLACE

Abstract: Psychedelic research has increasingly highlighted the capacity of compounds such as psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca to promote neuroplasticity, psychological flexibility, and meaningful shifts in perspective. However, a central challenge remains: understanding how acute experiences translate into lasting behavioural change and wellbeing. Exercise represents a compelling yet underexplored candidate in this regard. As one of the most accessible and evidence-based interventions for physical and mental health, exercise engages many of the same biological and psychological processes implicated in psychedelic-induced change, including neuroplasticity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor signalling, stress resilience, cognitive flexibility, mood, and motivation. This presentation explores the hypothesis that psychedelics and exercise may converge on shared mechanisms involved in learning, adaptation, and behaviour change. Drawing upon evidence from both psychedelic and exercise research, it examines the possibility that psychedelics create temporary windows of heightened plasticity, while exercise may provide a repeatable means of reinforcing and sustaining adaptive changes over time. Particular attention is given to the complementary roles these interventions may play in supporting behaviour change beyond the acute psychedelic experience. To explore this emerging intersection, an exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed, comprising a targeted literature review, a preliminary quantitative survey of individuals who had combined psychedelics and exercise, and qualitative expert interviews with researchers and clinicians working across psychedelics, mental health, and behaviour change. While exploratory and not designed to establish causality, these data provide early insight into perceived effects, behavioural outcomes, and potential future applications. Taken together, the convergence of biological, psychological, and behavioural evidence suggests a promising direction for future research. Although the relationship between psychedelics and exercise remains largely theoretical, exercise may represent an accessible, scalable, and low-cost strategy for supporting the longer-term changes initiated by psychedelic experiences. Future controlled studies are needed to investigate the efficacy, mechanisms, and practical implications of this combination.

BIO: Ryan Khan is a Research Assistant at Pneuma Science, Consultant at Psilonautica, Events Coordinator for The Psychedelic Society, and MSc Psychedelics candidate at the University of Exeter, where he is affiliated with the Exeter Psychedelic Interdisciplinary Centre. His work sits at the intersection of psychedelic science, mental health, behaviour change, science communication, and community engagement. His research focuses on understanding how psychedelic experiences can facilitate lasting psychological and behavioural change, with particular emphasis on neuroplasticity, wellbeing, and the translation of acute insights into sustainable real-world outcomes. He is especially interested in how complementary interventions—including exercise, meditation, lifestyle medicine, and community-based approaches—may help support and reinforce positive change before and beyond the psychedelic experience. Alongside his research, Ryan is passionate about making psychedelic science accessible to wider audiences. His writing and science communication have been featured by Psychedelic Alpha and Drug Science, and he regularly hosts and moderates panel discussions featuring researchers, clinicians, and leaders across the psychedelic field. Beyond academia, he is interested in the dialogue between contemporary psychedelic science and traditional knowledge systems and has completed facilitator training with the Synthesis Institute while currently undertaking training with Onaya. Through both academic and community-based initiatives, he is particularly interested in how psychedelic experiences can be integrated with evidence-based approaches to support long-term wellbeing, resilience, and human flourishing. Following his MSc, he hopes to pursue doctoral research exploring the mechanisms and optimisation of psychedelic-assisted behaviour change.

Aging, Cognition, and the Potential of Psychedelics

🥉PsychedelX 2026: THIRD PLACE

Abstract: As we age, the brain's most sophisticated regulatory machinery begins to fail. Not the neurons that excite, but the ones that restrain. Inhibitory interneurons, particularly the fast-spiking parvalbumin populations that sculpt cortical rhythms, are disproportionately vulnerable to aging. Their decline tips the brain's excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance, degrading the precisely timed circuit activity that underlies learning, memory, and flexible cognition. This emerging view reframes age-related cognitive decline less as wholesale neuronal loss and more as a disorder of inhibitory tone and circuit timing. What if we could restore that balance? Serotonergic psychedelics act through the 5-HT2A receptor to open windows of heightened plasticity and, quite possibly, to remodel inhibitory networks themselves. Best known for their promise in depression and PTSD, they may have an unexplored role: repairing the aging brain's broken inhibitory circuits. Using intermittent, low-dose 1P-LSD in naturally aged mice, I ask whether a psychedelic can rescue function across a wide behavioral landscape including spatial and working memory, cognitive flexibility, motor coordination, and balance. I pair this behavioral battery with molecular and circuit-level measures of inhibitory synapse integrity and E/I balance, building a mechanistic bridge from receptor to behavior. The goal is bigger than any one test. If low-dose psychedelics can stabilize the aging brain's inhibitory architecture, they offer a new lever on healthspan; more years of sharp, capable, independent living. This is psychedelic science aimed at one of the most universal challenges we face: growing old well.

BIO: Andrew Ferns is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, working in Dr. Nathalie Sumien's laboratory. His scientific training began in synthetic and organic chemistry, followed by several years designing and operating large-scale psilocybin mushroom cultivation systems in Oregon's regulated psilocybin services industry. His dissertation research investigates whether psychedelics can rescue age-related cognitive decline by restoring inhibitory circuit function in aged mice, with a particular focus on parvalbumin-expressing interneurons and their contribution to cortical excitation/inhibition balance. His broader scientific interests center on the circuit-level mechanisms of cognition, on the mechanisms by which psychedelics produce their characteristic phenomenology, and, more fundamentally, on the neurobiological basis of consciousness itself. 

The effects of psilocybin on hyper-reactivity and anxiety-like behavior in a mouse model of traumatic stress

Abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition characterized by a variety of symptoms, including hyperarousal, heightened anxiety, and exaggerated responses to stressful stimuli. Although current PTSD treatments can provide relief for some individuals, many patients continue to experience persistent symptoms or relapse after treatment, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic approaches. Recent clinical and preclinical research has identified psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic compound, as a promising candidate for the treatment of trauma-related disorders. This ongoing study investigates the effects of psilocybin on hyper-reactivity and anxiety-like behavior using the Trauma Exposure with Reminders (TERS) paradigm, a rodent model of trauma-induced hyperarousal. Mice are exposed to a footshock stressor, while control animals undergo the same procedure without footshock, followed by situational reminders of the event. Before the final reminder, mice receive either psilocybin or vehicle treatment. Behavioral outcomes are assessed using a battery of tests, including the Acoustic Startle Response, Open Field Test, and Elevated Zero Maze, which measure hyperreactivity and anxiety-like behavior across multiple contexts. Preliminary findings suggest that traumatic stress alters anxiety-like behavior following psilocybin administration but does not significantly impact hyperarousal-related responses. Ongoing analyses are focused on determining whether psilocybin can attenuate trauma-induced behavioral alterations following stress exposure. This work contributes to the growing body of research investigating psychedelic-assisted therapies for PTSD and related disorders. Ultimately, these findings may help inform the development of more effective treatments for individuals experiencing persistent trauma-related symptoms.

BIO: Luisa Zavala Rodriguez is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Program at Tulane University, where she conducts research under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Fadok. She earned her bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Biology and is broadly interested in understanding the neural mechanisms and circuits that underlie fear-related behaviors with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic approaches for stress-related disorders such as PTSD. Outside the laboratory, Luisa enjoys reading, watching reality television, and playing Minecraft. 

University at Buffalo

University of Michigan

Daniel J. Kruger earned his Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology at Loyola University Chicago and completed a NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Dr. Kruger conducts a wide range of basic and applied research, including many community-based collaborative projects designed to bring direct benefits to the community. He integrates this community-based approach into psychedelic research, conducting projects following the research priorities of the psychedelic community. His research has been funded by the NIH, CDC, state health departments, and foundations.

Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center

 Michigan Psychedelic Center

University of Michigan

Jacob S. Aday, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC) as well as the Michigan Psychedelic Center (M-PsyC) at the University of Michigan. His research interests are focused on improving research methodology and safety with the psychedelics, evaluating individual differences in treatment outcomes, and evaluating the potential use of psychedelic-assisted therapy for chronic pain populations.

Director, Brain-Behavioral Vulnerabilities Laboratory

Center for Studies of Addiction

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Anna Rose Childress, PhD is a Research Professor in Psychiatry at Penn, directing the Brain-Behavioral Vulnerability (Neuroimaging) laboratory. Her career focus has been helping addicted individuals manage the powerful craving states triggered by drug ‘reminder’ cues (the sights, sounds, smells and even memories/ thoughts associated with the drug itself). These cue-triggered craving states can lead to relapse, the return to drug use after stopping. Relapse is the most painful, expensive and lethal feature of the addictions. We use brain imaging tools to see the ‘craving’ circuitry in action and, importantly, we can use these tools to determine whether a new intervention is disrupting the ‘craving’ circuitry and/or improving the brain ‘brakes’ in control of this circuitry toward preventing relapse. Our newest studies are testing psilocybin in Opioid Use Disorder, to test its impact on an additional brain target: neurocognitive flexibility, the ability to get “unstuck” from unhelpful, repeating behavioral patterns in the journey to recovery.

Centre for Psychedelic Research

Imperial College London

Drug Science

Dr. Rayyan Zafar is a neuropsychopharmacologist and brain researcher at Imperial College London, where his work focuses on addiction, psychedelic therapy, and precision psychiatry. His research uses neuroimaging, behavioural science, and clinical biomarkers to understand how addiction alters brain systems involved in reward, salience, habit, and control, and how novel treatments may help restore them. He is currently leading work on psilocybin-assisted therapy for Gambling Disorder, integrating multimodal biomarkers with clinical outcomes to develop more targeted approaches to addiction treatment. Alongside his academic research, Rayyan is an active public communicator on neuroscience, drug policy, and mental health, with contributions across media, public talks, and policy-facing discussions. His broader work aims to translate advances in brain science into more humane, effective, and personalised treatments for mental health and addiction.