Microdosing Part 2 with Djai Baaten

In this episode, Nils sits down for the second time with Djai Baaten.   

Djai is a trained neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist and has worked in mental health care for most of his time. He has a strong academic background in how psychedelics work in the brain. As a psychologist, Djai is trained to work with people that want to change certain behaviours in their lives, but encounter difficulties in doing so.   

Djai also works as a microdose coach, where he coaches and assists new and experienced microdosers with their practice. For more information on his microdose coaching sessions, check: https://microdose-pro.com/coaching/​ In addition to his work as a psychologist, Djai is actively involved in the academic community on psychedelics and has co-organized several events.  

In this podcast, we dive into some interesting studies regarding microdosing, as a recent study performed by the Imperial College London suggested that the beneficial effects of microdosing could be explained by the placebo effect. The perfect opportunity to ask Djai to shed his light on the matter.

We discuss two main questions:  

Is microdosing a placebo?
What is the relationship between microdosing and Valvular Heart Disease (VHD)?  

In this episode, we mention the following studies and articles:  

Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing:
https://elifesciences.org/articles/62878

Low Doses of LSD Acutely Increase BDNF Blood Plasma Levels in Healthy Volunteers:
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsptsci.0c00099

Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994

Magic mushrooms show promise in treatment for depression, study says:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/14/magic-mushroom-psilocybin-show-promise-treatment-depression-clinical-trial-finds

Mood and cognition after administration of low LSD doses in healthy volunteers: A placebo-controlled dose-effect finding study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X20309111#bib0053

A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers:
https://www.beckleyfoundation.org/resource/ramaekers-et-al-2020/

Microdosing's Feel-Good Benefits Might Just Be Placebo Effect:
https://www.wired.com/story/microdosing-might-be-a-placebo/

Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6267140/

Why Chronic Psychedelic Microdosing May Not Be Appropriate:
https://www.psychedelicnewswire.com/why-chronic-psychedelic-microdosing-may-not-be-appropriate/

Psychedelic microdoses and mood disorders:
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/psychedelic-microdoses-and-mood-disorders

The benefits of microdosing might be down to the placebo effect:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/microdosing-study-placebo-results

Enjoy!  

Disclaimer: Do not take this video as medical advice. Always consult your medical professional if you have any questions regarding your health.

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