Yaden Lab

The Yaden Lab studies psychedelic & other altered states of consciousness. In the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research @JHPsychedelics

[Eddie Talks Drugs @eddietalksdrugs]

This was commissioned for generalist physicians, not the psychedelic research community. That constraint was clarifying. We had to decide: if a non-specialist reads one thing on this topic, what should it contain?

https://t.co/PZONdo1c9n

[Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Center @JHPsychedelics]

Drs. Fred Barrett and David Yaden have received a 2026 Johns Hopkins Nexus Award alongside fellow JHU scientists, educators, bioethicists, and economists. Their convening will bring together leaders across clinical, ethical, economic, and public health fields to advance critical conversations around the future of psychedelic policy. As the science matures, so must the policy conversations around it, and we are grateful to Johns Hopkins for supporting that work. https://t.co/ncln2h9cN2

[Sean Goldy @SeanPGoldy]

Caveats: only Hopkins studies, only MEQ data, only psilocybin trials.

In clinical settings, facilitators can meaningfully shape patients' experiences, which may carry into therapeutic effects.
📄 Check out the full paper for more:
https://t.co/seL9tKJOTr

[Praachi Tiwari @PraachiTiwari]

We published these findings last year, and I thought that is my last first author paper from my PhD (clearly it wasn't... ^_^).
4/9
https://t.co/5NSaX7mN5Q

[Praachi Tiwari @PraachiTiwari]

My main PhD question explored the effects of psychedelic DOI on anxiety-like behavior. We found that there is a dose dependent response, with DOI's action on anxiety, but not locomotion mediated through the 5-HT2ARs.
3/9

[Praachi Tiwari @PraachiTiwari]

We investigated the mechanistic pathway underlying the DOI-evoked anxiolytic response and this led to my primary PhD findings: 5-HT2ARs on vHpc PV interneurons are responsible for DOI induced decrease in anxiety on EPM.
5/9
https://t.co/xFZTIAHQk0

[Eddie Talks Drugs @eddietalksdrugs]

Our (@zarmeen_z Jared Hinkle @sdpnayak @ExistWell) State of the Art Review on psychedelic medicine is now out in @bmj_latest.

A few thoughts on why we wrote it the way we did. 🧵

[Eddie Talks Drugs @eddietalksdrugs]

An overview of the ethical spine of our argument is now live in our @bioethics_net blog:

https://t.co/4cycje12is

[11/11]

[Sean Goldy @SeanPGoldy]

🔍 Key finding: In clinical populations, facilitators accounted for 13.6% of variance in “mystical” experiences. In healthy volunteers? Just 0.8%.

[Praachi Tiwari @PraachiTiwari]

The final chunk of my PhD is now published online. Grateful for @ViditaVaidya, and co-authors @Mahathi_VR and @Noname_shre
We show that chemogenetically activating, but not inhibiting vHpc->BA projections can module anxiety-like response on the EPM.
https://t.co/GJtLiNtVGy
1/9

[Katherine Cheung @Katherine_Chg]

Original article that Daniel commented on: https://t.co/XKwZwTmrvQ

[Katherine Cheung @Katherine_Chg]

What exactly it would mean for psychedelic research(ers) to be "independent"?

Very pleased to share a new piece on the benefits & risks of independence in psychedelic research, w/ @ExistWell @r_ehrenkranz @briandavidearp @eddietalksdrugs

[Sean Goldy @SeanPGoldy]

In other words, facilitators seem to have the biggest impact on psychedelic experiences when therapeutic stakes are highest. For healthy volunteers, the experience was shaped almost entirely by the drug itself and individual differences, not who facilitated the session.

[Elise Weerts @EliseWeertsPhD]

Roland Griffiths was my post-doctoral Mentor. He led the field in pharmacology research on caffeine and "club drugs" long before he began his work on psilocybin. People forget his other contributions. This article finally highlights some of this work. https://t.co/6AOGZbW8MO

[David B. Yaden @ExistWell]

New paper led by Dr. Praachi Tiwari (@PraachiTiwari)!
The psychedelic DOI alters locomotion depending on dose and species (through 5-HT₂A receptors). This matters for understanding anxiety-like behavior in animal models of psychedelics.
(w/ @ViditaVaidya and her great lab)

[Praachi Tiwari @PraachiTiwari]

The final first author paper from my PhD is finally out!!!
We find that DOI changes total movement in rats and mice differently, and not all strains of mice respond the same way. This change in locomotion at 1mg/kg DOI seems to be 5HT2A dependent.
https://t.co/5NSaX7mN5Q

[Eddie Talks Drugs @eddietalksdrugs]

How should we approach psychedelic therapies for teenagers?

“Very carefully, very cautiously, if at all” seems like the correct (if coarse-grained) answer.

In a new paper, we articulate one concern that we think hasn't had enough attention, and sketch a response. [1/11]

[Brandon Weiss @BWe1ss]

In times of ebullience like this one, a painstaking dose of conscientiousness goes a long way.

[Katherine Cheung @Katherine_Chg]

Oregon’s psilocybin services (~$3000 at the higher end) are often described as quite expensive. But when making this claim, we should ask: expensive compared to what?

https://t.co/oalSerULFO

[Daniël Lakens @lakens]

When we started to promote replication studies (e.g. Koole & Lakens, 2012) we had a scientific culture where publishing a direct replication with a null result was practically impossible, and most didn't even consider trying. That culture has changed - although still not enough.