Beyond the Ego: Dr. Manesh Girn on the Neural Mechanisms of the Psychedelic State

In this episode of Ayahuasca Podcast host Sam Believ (founder of www.lawayra.com) has a conversation with Dr. Manesh Girn, a neuroscientist, psychedelic researcher, and co-founder and CEO of Five Discovery, a psychedelic biotechnology company developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. Previously, Dr. Girn completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco working with Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying psychedelic experiences. He has authored over two dozen peer-reviewed publications on brain networks, psychedelics, and cognition. We touch upon topics of: His personal introduction and background in Eastern spirituality (03:00 - 04:00) Parallels between meditation and psychedelic altered states (04:00 - 05:10) The scientific concepts of ego dissolution and ego inflation (05:10 - 10:00) How psychedelics work in the brain and neuroplasticity (10:00 - 13:00) The brain as an interconnected ecosystem (13:00 - 15:10) Why disruption and temporary chaos lead to healing and recalibration (15:10 - 17:00) Coherence, transient states, and capturing brain dynamics (17:00 - 19:10) Myths and realities of the Default Mode Network (DMN) (19:10 - 21:40) Other brain networks affected by psychedelics and their therapeutic roles (21:40 - 24:00) Psychedelics for creativity, professional breakthrough insights, and non-hallucinogenic therapeutics (24:00 - 27:00) Using complexity science and system-level approaches in mental health (29:45 - 32:45) Why individuals experience highly variable, context-dependent psychedelic effects (32:45 - 34:50) Precision psychiatry and personalized dosing (34:50 - 37:10) Placebo-controlled research on microdosing vs. high-dose applications (37:10 - 41:40) The difficulty of studying the neuroscience of bad trips (41:40 - 44:00) The value of first-person psychedelic experience for scientific researchers (44:00 - 46:15) How the brain is hardwired to experience deep love, gratitude, and connection (46:15 - 49:10) The challenges of measuring endogenous DMT and theories of post-retreat reactivations (49:10 - 54:30) If you would like to attend one of our Ayahuasca retreats go to www.lawayra.com Find more about Dr. Manesh Girn on Instagram or YouTube @thepsychedelicscientist, his personal website maneshgirn.com, or learn about his biotechnology company at fivediscovery.com.