How Psychedelics Change the Brain

Psychedelics might interact with the brain by turning off the brain’s default mode network and affecting a thin sheet of gray matter called the claustrum. This could shake up communication between different regions of the brain. Official Website: | #NOVAPBS Hallucinogenic drugs—popularly called psychedelics—have been used by human societies for thousands of years. Today, scientists are taking a second look at many of these mind-altering substances–both natural and synthetic–and discovering that they can have profoundly positive clinical impacts, helping patients struggling with a range of afflictions from addiction to depression and PTSD. #psychedelictherapy #psychedelicsbrain #mdmatherapy #lsddrug #psychedelicsdocumentary #brainstudy CREDITS: EDITED BY: Ryan Shepheard WRITTEN, PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY Larkin McPhee --- NARRATED BY Mercer Boffey PRODUCTION MANAGER Janey Klebe CAMERA Ezra Wolfinger Samuel Russell Thomas Kaufman Vicente Franco SOUND RECORDISTS Ezra Wolfinger Mark Mandler Ivan Basauri Ray Day ANIMATION Brian Olson MUSIC APM Music Scorekeepers RESEARCH Joan Nolan ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Rachel Nyberg PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Mike Rose ONLINE EDITOR AND COLORIST Dave Bigelow AUDIO MIX Heartpunch Studio ARCHIVAL MATERIAL Alamy AP Archive Getty Images Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Pond5 Shutterstock The Royal Society EXPERT REVIEWERS Dr. David E. Nichols Dr. Natalie Gukasyan SPECIAL THANKS Jim Mandler Kennedy Krieger Institute --- NOVA SERIES GRAPHICS yU co. NOVA THEME MUSIC Walter Werzowa John Luker Musikvergnuegen, Inc ADDITIONAL NOVA THEME MUSIC Ray Loring Rob Morsberger CAPTIONING AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION Media Access Group at GBH POST PRODUCTION ONLINE EDITOR Lindsey Rundell Denault --- SENIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER Emily Zendt DIGITAL MANAGING PRODUCER Kristine Allington DIGITAL PRODUCERS Alex Clark Ana Aceves DIGITAL PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Shyla Duff --- DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Ralph Bouquet PROGRAM MANAGER, NOVA SCIENCE STUDIO Laura-Ashley Alegbeleye DIGITAL EDITOR, EDUCATION Kara Norton --- DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Jennifer Welsh DIGITAL EDITORS Alissa Greenberg Hanna Ali Attabey Rodríguez Benítez SENIOR DIRECTOR OF AUDIENCE RESEARCH Cory Allen NATIONAL PUBLICITY DKC Public Relations --- ASSOCIATE RESEARCHERS Christina Monnen Abe Musselman PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Linda Callahan ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Angelica Coleman --- BUSINESS MANAGER Elisabeth Frele PROJECT MANAGER, SCIENCE AND SOCIETY Maggie Stevenson BUSINESS ASSOCIATE Saron Admasu --- LEGAL AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS Susan Rosen RIGHTS MANAGER Hannah Gotwals CONTRACTS MANAGER Sarah Erlandson TALENT RELATIONS Suzy Carrington --- BROADCAST MANAGER Nathan Gunner SENIOR SUPERVISING PRODUCER Kevin Young SENIOR PROMOTIONS PRODUCER AND EDITOR Michael H. Amundson POST PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Jay Colamaria --- SENIOR SCIENCE EDITOR Evan Hadingham SCIENCE EDITOR Robin Kazmier SCIENCE AND EQUITY EDITOR Krystnell Storr --- BUSINESS DIRECTOR Elizabeth Benjes PROJECT DIRECTOR Pamela Rosenstein SENIOR DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER David Condon NOVA PRODUCER Caitlin Saks --- SENIOR DIRECTOR OF BRAND MARKETING AND AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Nadia Petschek Rawls DIRECTOR, BUSINESS OPERATIONS & FINANCE Laurie Cahalane --- EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Julia Cort Chris Schmidt --- A NOVA Production by Larkin McPhee Productions, LLC for GBH Boston. © 2022 WGBH Educational Foundation All rights reserved This program was produced by WGBH, which is solely responsible for its content. Some funders of NOVA also fund basic science research. Experts featured in this film may have received support from funders of this program. Original funding for this program was provided by Brilliant Worldwide, Inc., Consumer Cellular, the NOVA Science Trust and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This excerpt from a NOVA documentary is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: