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 ...
Fred Barrett
@fredbarrettphd.bsky.social
May we live in less interesting times. Shih Yin Professor @HopkinsMedicine; Director @JHPsychedelics; Psych & Behavioral Sciences, @HopkinsNeuro, Psych & Brain Sciences; Opinions my own, generated by an organic neural network.
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 ...
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!!
For those interested in the history of psychedelic research… I wrote a narrative piece describing studies of psychedelic effects on serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe, from late 1960s to 1980s: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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.
This paper has been a long time coming. Instead of reanalyzing the same old resting-state fMRI datasets, we combined nearly all datasets around the world. Note that we didn't exactly find indisputable evidence for "default mode network disintegration." www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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-
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!
🧠 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
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
academic.oup.com
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...
Psychedelics and plasticity: from synapses to cognition | 38th ECNP Congress preview
YouTube video by European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
youtube.com
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.
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
great work with Megan Hosein, Zach Cordner, and the NNDC Task group on psychedelics and related compounds - grateful to co-chair with @TrishaSuppesMD
1/ New consensus statement just dropped on the potential for psilocybin in clinical care, from the Task Group on Psychedelics and Related Compounds of the US National Network of Depression Centers The message? Lots of promise, but real risks if we rush. 🧵 authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Congrats to some excellent scientists, including @manojdoss.bsky.social and @ryanntansey.bsky.social !!!
Join us in Congratulating the 2025 ACNP Travel Award Class! 🙌🎉
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
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 !
This. More of this. Much more of this. Thank you @vanhollen.senate.gov
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.
I'm a member of the NIMH BSC. The members who were fired are outstanding scientists, which is why they were appointed to the BSC in the first place. Their firing for unspecified reasons is unconscionable.
At least four neuroscientists received termination letters this week dismissing them from NIH advisory boards. “This is unusual and unprecedented,” says @thebalelab.bsky.social, one of the terminated board members. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence bit.ly/4hM0Xa3
gotta celebrate all small victories - I just passed 10k citations on google scholar :) only legit peer-reviewed articles (this can be a fickle and deceptive number depending on what items make it on the list). Keep good Google Scholar hygiene, people! scholar.google.com/citations?us...
🧵 How do psychedelics shape brain activity? Our new paper presents the largest neuroimaging study of psilocybin to date—revealing how context structures psychedelic brain states. Title: Psychedelics Align Brain Activity with Context Paper: lnkd.in/gt-kMR6d A thread 🧵👇 1/n
Schumer needs to go. Doesn't matter the outcome at this point.
For the democrats saying “we can’t let the govt shut down” you’ve already lost. It’s not on you. Republicans control everything, didn’t come to you for anything except your vote. Where else can you force changes? You can’t… you’re a willing participant in Republican majority
Call your representatives every day. Every. Single. Day. 5calls.org
We're hiring a postdoc! Gain experience in clinical trial management, psilocybin therapy, data analysis, writing, and grantsmanship—preparing for an independent clinical science career. Interested applicants may email CV & cover letter to Dr. Brandon Weiss (bweiss13@jh.edu).
NIH is the best investment there is. www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
forbes.com
Behold The Golden Age Of Public Corruption In America-> AG Pam Bondi has eviscerated the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, NBC News reports, in another sign that rampant unrestrained public corruption will be a defining feature of the Trump era. talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
Behold The Golden Age Of Public Corruption In America
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...
talkingpointsmemo.com
Imagine this: On the evening of March 8, you and your spouse unlock the door to your apartment building. As you step inside, two men—not in uniform—push their way in behind you. They tell you your visa has been revoked and that they are there to deport you.
call your representatives every day. Every. Single. Day. 5calls.org/issue/cr-con... 5calls.org/issue/mahmou...