0:00:01.380,0:00:04.076
At various points over the past 20 years,

0:00:04.076,0:00:07.870
I've studied two fundamental[br]human experiences

0:00:07.870,0:00:10.259
that have taught me[br]an awful lot about emotion,

0:00:10.259,0:00:13.706
and that may hold the keys[br]to a revolution in psychiatry.

0:00:13.975,0:00:16.026
The first is how we experience music.

0:00:16.480,0:00:19.414
The second is how we experience[br]psychedelic drugs

0:00:19.414,0:00:22.042
such as LSD and magic mushrooms,

0:00:22.042,0:00:23.164
or, psilocybin,

0:00:23.164,0:00:25.477
which is the active component[br]in magic mushrooms.

0:00:26.182,0:00:29.903
You may be wondering what these two things[br]have in common outside of Woodstock.

0:00:29.993,0:00:33.560
After all, music is not[br]a physical substance.

0:00:33.817,0:00:37.308
It can be described as a limited set[br]of vibrations in the air

0:00:37.308,0:00:39.174
that can be detected by your ear.

0:00:39.501,0:00:42.695
Music may seem to have more to do[br]with aesthetics than with biology

0:00:42.695,0:00:43.913
or chemistry.

0:00:44.427,0:00:47.235
Psychedelic drugs on the other hand[br]are physical substances.

0:00:47.235,0:00:49.848
They are chemical compounds[br]that you can ingest

0:00:49.848,0:00:52.220
that directly interact[br]with brain chemistry

0:00:52.220,0:00:54.145
and change your experience of the world.

0:00:54.752,0:00:56.945
This change is temporary,

0:00:56.945,0:01:00.011
but the effects of this change[br]can alter the course of your life.

0:01:00.596,0:01:01.649
But let's face it:

0:01:01.649,0:01:03.277
psychedelics have the potential

0:01:03.277,0:01:06.302
to trigger unexpected[br]and potentially dangerous effects.

0:01:06.490,0:01:09.866
So what could these two very different[br]things possibly have in common?

0:01:11.533,0:01:15.715
I've found that music and psychedelics[br]can impact our well-being

0:01:15.715,0:01:18.074
in powerful and complementary ways.

0:01:18.755,0:01:21.252
Music can have a direct[br]impact on our emotions

0:01:21.252,0:01:23.308
with measurable impacts on the brain;

0:01:23.308,0:01:24.485
psychedelic drugs,

0:01:24.485,0:01:26.156
under the right circumstances,

0:01:26.156,0:01:27.865
may have therapeutic effects.

0:01:28.138,0:01:30.461
These effects can be manifest in patterns

0:01:30.461,0:01:33.259
that we can study[br]and document with brain scans.

0:01:33.842,0:01:36.901
And together and leveraged[br]in a purposeful fashion,

0:01:36.901,0:01:39.814
music and psychedelics may have[br]an even greater healing impact

0:01:39.814,0:01:40.811
on patients.

0:01:40.811,0:01:45.387
What's more, these effects can be manifest[br]in healthier and happier lives

0:01:45.387,0:01:47.228
and more integrated personalities.

0:01:48.100,0:01:50.871
I began my journey into the mental[br]health benefits of music

0:01:50.871,0:01:53.359
long before I ever intended[br]to make such a journey.

0:01:53.947,0:01:56.259
For roughly half of my life[br]I've been a musician,

0:01:56.259,0:01:58.068
having played in community orchestras,

0:01:58.068,0:01:59.703
community theaters,

0:01:59.703,0:02:00.707
wedding bands,

0:02:00.707,0:02:01.869
a salsa-merengue band.

0:02:01.869,0:02:06.015
I was a member of a string band[br]in Philadelphia for many years.

0:02:06.270,0:02:08.587
And for the better part[br]of my formative years,

0:02:08.587,0:02:11.838
I was the drummer[br]in a Weezer-Nirvana cover band

0:02:11.838,0:02:13.938
that morphed into a hardcore punk band.

0:02:13.938,0:02:14.939
(Laughter)

0:02:14.939,0:02:15.974
That's right.

0:02:15.974,0:02:17.523
Drummer in a punk band.

0:02:17.697,0:02:22.268
But it wasn't until I really began[br]my career in psychology and neuroscience

0:02:22.268,0:02:25.234
that I began to also appreciate

0:02:25.234,0:02:27.601
how widely and how deeply[br]we as a species,

0:02:27.601,0:02:29.930
both implicitly and explicitly,

0:02:29.930,0:02:33.096
use music as a tool to try[br]to regulate our emotions

0:02:33.096,0:02:34.163
and to heal.

0:02:34.420,0:02:36.668
And for some us, music keeps us going.

0:02:36.988,0:02:39.290
For others, music isn't quite enough.

0:02:39.843,0:02:42.160
For me, this led to some[br]fascinating questions.

0:02:42.384,0:02:45.787
I began to use music as a tool[br]to study emotion and memory in the brain.

0:02:46.202,0:02:49.579
My first scientific study was focused[br]on music-evoked nostalgia.

0:02:49.774,0:02:52.492
Nostalgia's a rich and bittersweet emotion

0:02:52.492,0:02:55.597
that is intimately tied up[br]with our autobiographical memories.

0:02:56.188,0:02:59.557
We can often encounter nostalgia[br]in unexpected places.

0:02:59.918,0:03:02.843
You may have had the experience[br]driving down the highway,

0:03:02.843,0:03:03.858
turning on the radio

0:03:03.858,0:03:06.696
or firing up your favorite music[br]recommendation service,

0:03:06.696,0:03:09.210
and you hear a song[br]you haven't heard in ages

0:03:09.210,0:03:11.478
and you get immediately[br]transported back in time

0:03:11.478,0:03:13.878
and dumped into this immersive memory --

0:03:13.878,0:03:15.879
something you haven't[br]thought about in ages

0:03:15.879,0:03:17.452
but was very meaningful to you --

0:03:17.452,0:03:19.408
maybe wedding day or senior prom

0:03:19.408,0:03:20.941
or the birth of your first child

0:03:20.941,0:03:22.456
or the death of a loved one.

0:03:22.935,0:03:25.807
Music can serve as a powerful context cue

0:03:25.807,0:03:31.285
for deeply meaningful and intensely vivid[br]nostalgic memories such as these.

0:03:32.335,0:03:35.969
Nostalgia in a sense is deeply woven[br]into our sense of self.

0:03:37.148,0:03:39.400
Who are we at our most authentic selves?

0:03:39.400,0:03:41.546
By connecting us[br]with our emotional histories,

0:03:41.546,0:03:44.744
nostalgia can help us to stave off[br]sadness, loneliness,

0:03:44.744,0:03:46.068
existential threat

0:03:46.068,0:03:47.553
and even the imminence of death

0:03:47.553,0:03:49.971
and the approaching horizon[br]of our lives as we age.

0:03:51.194,0:03:55.087
To try to get a better understanding[br]of how music may tap into nostalgia

0:03:55.087,0:03:57.357
and what that may be doing in the brain,

0:03:57.357,0:04:00.721
I began to work with computational[br]models of music cognition.

0:04:00.996,0:04:04.130
I applied these models[br]to interrogate brain activity

0:04:04.130,0:04:07.215
that was recorded[br]while people were listening

0:04:07.215,0:04:10.517
to nostalgia-evoking[br]and nonnostalgia-evoking music.

0:04:10.817,0:04:12.364
And importantly --

0:04:12.364,0:04:14.406
at least to a brain geek like me --

0:04:14.406,0:04:17.875
I found that nostalgia was able[br]to recruit a wide network of brain regions

0:04:17.875,0:04:20.795
involved in multiple levels[br]of difference cognitive processes.

0:04:20.880,0:04:24.351
Whereas nonnostalgic music[br]could recruit brain regions

0:04:24.351,0:04:25.673
such as Heschl's gyrus,

0:04:25.673,0:04:27.808
involved in basic auditory processing,

0:04:27.808,0:04:29.150
or Broca's area,

0:04:29.150,0:04:31.345
which involved in processing[br]grammar and syntax

0:04:31.345,0:04:33.438
not only in language but also in music.

0:04:33.968,0:04:36.767
Nostalgia was able to recruit[br]these brain regions and more.

0:04:36.767,0:04:40.318
Brain regions such as the substantia nigra[br]involved in reward processing

0:04:40.318,0:04:43.797
or the anterior insula involved[br]in the visceral experience of emotion

0:04:43.797,0:04:46.629
or brain regions[br]in the inferior frontal gyrus

0:04:46.629,0:04:48.837
that are involved[br]in autobiographical memories.

0:04:48.967,0:04:52.056
Nostalgia was also able to recruit[br]a wide network of brain regions

0:04:52.056,0:04:55.642
in prefrontal, frontal, cingulate,[br]insular, parietal, occipital

0:04:55.642,0:04:57.049
and subcortical brain regions

0:04:57.049,0:04:59.519
that span nearly all[br]of our cognitive faculties.

0:04:59.761,0:05:03.375
This may explain why nostalgia[br]can have such an outsized impact on us.

0:05:03.706,0:05:05.672
But as powerful as it is in the moment,

0:05:05.672,0:05:08.806
the salve of music-evoked[br]nostalgia eventually fades.

0:05:09.340,0:05:12.015
Nostalgia may be more of a Band-Aid,

0:05:12.015,0:05:13.399
less of an antibiotic

0:05:13.399,0:05:17.111
and typically far from a surgical[br]intervention for our emotional health.

0:05:17.811,0:05:19.745
Music can draw out nostalgia

0:05:19.745,0:05:21.912
and music and nostalgia[br]can move our feelings,

0:05:21.912,0:05:23.866
but how do we make these feelings stick?

0:05:24.696,0:05:26.480
After studying the nostalgic brain,

0:05:26.480,0:05:28.479
I joined a team[br]at Johns Hopkins University

0:05:28.479,0:05:30.855
that was studying the effects[br]of psychedelic drugs,

0:05:30.855,0:05:34.516
and I quickly began to learn how deeply[br]a piece of music could impact a person

0:05:34.516,0:05:36.037
during a psychedelic experience.

0:05:36.037,0:05:39.507
I was previously vexed by the difficulty[br]in predicting precisely

0:05:39.507,0:05:42.504
what musical stimulus would evoke[br]precisely what response

0:05:42.504,0:05:43.905
within a given individual.

0:05:43.905,0:05:47.707
A song that evokes nostalgia in one person[br]could just as easily evoke disinterest

0:05:47.707,0:05:49.113
or disgust in another person.

0:05:49.277,0:05:54.410
I began to learn how deeply most music[br]seemed to impact most people

0:05:54.410,0:05:56.109
during psychedelic experiences.

0:05:56.723,0:05:58.444
Since at least the late '50s,

0:05:58.444,0:06:00.687
the value of using music to help people

0:06:00.687,0:06:03.262
to navigate psychedelic[br]experiences was clear.

0:06:03.474,0:06:06.042
We continue this tradition[br]in our modern research,

0:06:06.042,0:06:08.270
asking volunteers to listen to music

0:06:08.270,0:06:10.952
during the course[br]of a psychedelic therapy session,

0:06:10.952,0:06:14.752
and despite most people being[br]mostly naïve to the music that we play

0:06:14.752,0:06:16.835
before they get into the sessions,

0:06:16.835,0:06:17.839
after these sessions,

0:06:17.839,0:06:20.802
our volunteers practically[br]beg us for the playlists.

0:06:20.802,0:06:23.780
And some of them report[br]returning to the songs

0:06:23.780,0:06:26.972
that were most impactful to them[br]during their psychedelic experience

0:06:26.972,0:06:29.957
weeks, months and even many years[br]after the experience.

0:06:29.957,0:06:34.528
Somehow these songs[br]can turn into touchstones

0:06:34.528,0:06:39.804
that can rekindle the most powerful[br]and impactful and insightful experiences

0:06:39.804,0:06:43.019
that people encountered[br]during their psychedelic sessions.

0:06:43.835,0:06:46.025
Of course I had to know[br]what was going on here.

0:06:46.025,0:06:48.265
I began to deploy[br]my batteries of questionnaires

0:06:48.265,0:06:49.976
and my carefully crafted experiments

0:06:49.976,0:06:51.706
and my big, fancy MRI machines

0:06:51.706,0:06:54.252
to try to determine just what[br]could be happening

0:06:54.252,0:06:55.647
during these experiences

0:06:55.647,0:07:00.572
that could explain the depth[br]of impact that people were encountering.

0:07:01.390,0:07:02.896
At a basic psychological level,

0:07:02.896,0:07:04.608
my colleagues and I determined that,

0:07:04.608,0:07:07.287
for instance, LSD can increase[br]positive emotions

0:07:07.287,0:07:09.764
that are uniquely encountered[br]during music listening.

0:07:09.764,0:07:13.637
This may have relevance just by itself[br]for healthy individuals

0:07:13.637,0:07:16.785
as well as people suffering from mood[br]and substance-use disorders.

0:07:16.785,0:07:18.583
But what was happening in the brain?

0:07:20.044,0:07:23.917
Earlier we learned that the entire brain[br]listens to nostalgic music.

0:07:24.859,0:07:27.975
When applying computational models[br]of music cognition

0:07:27.975,0:07:31.946
to interrogate brain activity[br]that was recorded during music listening

0:07:31.946,0:07:33.813
under the effects of LSD,

0:07:33.813,0:07:38.414
we found that the entire brain[br]was listening to music

0:07:38.414,0:07:40.594
and psychedelics were turning up the gain.

0:07:41.610,0:07:44.969
Where nostalgia could recruit[br]brain regions involved in language,

0:07:44.969,0:07:46.011
memory and emotion,

0:07:46.011,0:07:48.253
psychedelics were recruiting[br]these brain regions

0:07:48.253,0:07:49.568
at least twice as strongly.

0:07:49.568,0:07:51.950
Brain regions such as the thalamus

0:07:51.950,0:07:53.954
that's involved in basic[br]sensory processing

0:07:53.954,0:07:55.510
or the medial prefrontal cortex

0:07:55.510,0:07:57.131
and the posterior singular cortex,

0:07:57.131,0:08:00.127
which can be involved in memory[br]and emotion and mental imagery.

0:08:00.127,0:08:03.455
These brain regions were recruited[br]up to four times as strongly

0:08:03.455,0:08:05.975
during the effects of LSD[br]than without LSD.

0:08:07.338,0:08:10.447
Psychedelics turn the nob up to 11.

0:08:10.978,0:08:14.070
Sensory information is more[br]richly experienced in the brain;

0:08:14.070,0:08:17.316
emotions, memories[br]and mental imagery are supercharged,

0:08:17.316,0:08:19.973
and it may be the wholesale[br]and strong recruitment

0:08:19.973,0:08:24.164
of a wide range of brain regions[br]during these experiences

0:08:24.164,0:08:26.377
that is the necessary key[br]to unlocking change

0:08:26.377,0:08:30.177
that sets these drugs[br]and these experiences apart from others.

0:08:30.793,0:08:32.759
And the effects can be long-lasting.

0:08:33.576,0:08:35.193
In a study of healthy individuals,

0:08:35.193,0:08:37.624
I demonstrated that a single[br]high dose of psilocybin

0:08:37.624,0:08:41.698
could reduce negative affect in volunteers[br]for at least a week after psilocybin,

0:08:41.698,0:08:43.140
and increased positive affect

0:08:43.140,0:08:46.480
for at least a month after a single[br]high dose of psilocybin.

0:08:46.831,0:08:48.490
The reduction in negative affect

0:08:48.490,0:08:50.934
that we observed after[br]psilocybin administration

0:08:50.934,0:08:54.336
was accompanied by a reduction[br]one week after psilocybin

0:08:54.336,0:08:57.301
in the response of a primitive[br]brain region called the amygdala

0:08:57.301,0:08:58.834
to emotional stimuli.

0:08:58.936,0:09:03.204
In a separate study in patients[br]with major depressive disorder,

0:09:03.204,0:09:07.537
not only did we observe a substantial[br]decrease in depression severity

0:09:07.537,0:09:10.920
in most of our patients[br]after two doses of psilocybin,

0:09:10.920,0:09:15.036
but we also observed a reduction[br]in the amygdala response

0:09:15.036,0:09:16.738
to negative affective stimuli,

0:09:16.738,0:09:19.862
specifically one week after psilocybin.

0:09:20.355,0:09:22.186
This reduction in amygdala response

0:09:22.186,0:09:25.436
was associated with an enduring[br]reduction in depression severity

0:09:25.436,0:09:28.145
for at least three months[br]after psilocybin administration,

0:09:28.145,0:09:29.948
but frankly, we're still counting.

0:09:31.073,0:09:32.641
So what does this all mean?

0:09:33.657,0:09:38.160
It means that music[br]and psychedelics may be able

0:09:38.160,0:09:41.974
to alter the entire brain[br]for a period of time,

0:09:41.974,0:09:46.172
and that may lead to a change[br]in neurocircuitry

0:09:46.172,0:09:49.223
that may be stuck in patterns[br]of negative emotional bias.

0:09:49.633,0:09:53.041
This may be able to give people[br]a period of relief

0:09:53.041,0:09:55.575
from the grip and the claws[br]of negative emotion.

0:09:56.675,0:10:00.437
And that may be just enough to give[br]someone access to new perspectives

0:10:00.437,0:10:01.927
on their selves and their lives

0:10:01.927,0:10:04.662
and begin on the road to healing[br]from years of depression.

0:10:06.428,0:10:09.093
These drugs are early[br]in stages of research,

0:10:09.093,0:10:13.148
but they're now being researched[br]for a wide range of medical indications.

0:10:13.669,0:10:14.814
There's evidence growing

0:10:14.814,0:10:18.055
that psychedelics may be effective[br]in helping to treat mood disorders

0:10:18.055,0:10:19.679
such as major depressive disorder,

0:10:19.679,0:10:21.108
treatment-resistant depression

0:10:21.108,0:10:22.550
and the depression and anxiety

0:10:22.550,0:10:24.648
that accompany a late-stage[br]cancer diagnosis.

0:10:24.834,0:10:28.117
There's also eveidence accumulating[br]that psychedelics may be effective

0:10:28.117,0:10:30.937
in helping to treat a wide range[br]of substance-use disorders,

0:10:30.937,0:10:32.984
including smoking, drinking[br]and cocaine use.

0:10:33.086,0:10:35.486
Additional studies[br]are either being planned

0:10:35.486,0:10:37.295
or are already underway

0:10:37.295,0:10:40.207
to determine whether psychedelics[br]may be effective in treating

0:10:40.207,0:10:42.538
an even wider range[br]of intractable disorders

0:10:42.538,0:10:45.187
such as OCD, PTSD,

0:10:45.187,0:10:46.272
opioid-use disorder

0:10:46.272,0:10:47.323
and anorexia.

0:10:48.536,0:10:51.155
At this point it might be reasonable[br]to take a step back

0:10:51.155,0:10:54.140
and say, "Are psychedelics[br]being sold as a panacea?"

0:10:54.278,0:10:56.528
And if so, we should[br]be rightfully skeptical.

0:10:56.832,0:11:00.842
Why should we expect such a small family[br]of compounds to be so effective

0:11:00.842,0:11:03.593
in treating such a wide range[br]of disparate disorders?

0:11:05.398,0:11:07.783
Here's a perspective we might consider.

0:11:08.714,0:11:11.294
Some of these disorders[br]share a common thread.

0:11:12.515,0:11:14.626
At some level,

0:11:14.626,0:11:17.981
mood disorders and substance-use disorders[br]involve negative affect

0:11:17.981,0:11:20.663
and a disconnection[br]from our most authentic selves.

0:11:21.781,0:11:24.031
Psychedelics may break that mold.

0:11:25.034,0:11:28.276
Psychedelics and music[br]may represent a one-two punch

0:11:28.276,0:11:32.810
that can operate on psychological[br]neural processes such as negative affect

0:11:32.810,0:11:35.291
that cut across and contribute[br]to multiple disorders.

0:11:35.433,0:11:39.726
It may be that targeting[br]such transdiagnostic processes

0:11:39.726,0:11:43.292
is what's necessary to really help people

0:11:43.292,0:11:46.972
to develop the resources[br]that they need to begin to recover

0:11:46.972,0:11:49.524
from years of depression[br]and substance use.

0:11:50.465,0:11:53.554
They say you never get a second chance[br]to make a first impression,

0:11:53.554,0:11:55.576
and that may be true[br]for psychedelic drugs.

0:11:55.576,0:11:58.604
After all, no matter[br]how much data come out

0:11:58.604,0:12:01.927
for the potential of therapeutic[br]effects of these drugs,

0:12:01.927,0:12:05.527
there are still some who are stuck[br]on the stigma from the '60s and '70s:

0:12:05.527,0:12:08.114
myths of the wildly addictive[br]properties of these drugs

0:12:08.114,0:12:09.931
or myths of genetic abnormalities

0:12:09.931,0:12:12.432
or birth defects after[br]being exposed to these drugs

0:12:12.432,0:12:14.762
or fears that people are going[br]to lose their minds

0:12:14.762,0:12:15.784
and go insane --

0:12:15.784,0:12:17.128
or maybe even most pervasive

0:12:17.128,0:12:20.206
is the sense that these effects[br]are necessarily real

0:12:20.206,0:12:24.728
and that they're a necessary outcome[br]of having been exposed to these compounds.

0:12:25.563,0:12:28.511
It may be time to change[br]our thinking on that point.

0:12:29.603,0:12:32.482
No one should expect psychedelic[br]drugs to work for everyone.

0:12:32.685,0:12:35.584
No one should expect psychedelic[br]drugs to work for everything.

0:12:35.741,0:12:37.276
They're powerful compounds

0:12:37.276,0:12:41.871
that need to be administered[br]under carefully controlled circumstances.

0:12:42.434,0:12:44.839
And there are almost certainly[br]people in this world

0:12:44.839,0:12:47.045
for whom psychedelics[br]are incredibly dangerous.

0:12:48.086,0:12:49.775
But ...

0:12:49.775,0:12:53.866
antibiotics administered to the wrong[br]person under the wrong conditions

0:12:53.866,0:12:55.201
can be incredibly dangerous,

0:12:55.201,0:12:56.209
if not worse.

0:12:56.837,0:12:59.835
But administered to the right person[br]under the right conditions,

0:12:59.835,0:13:01.438
antibiotics save lives.

0:13:02.353,0:13:05.811
Administered to the right people[br]under the right conditions,

0:13:05.811,0:13:08.330
psychedelic drugs may save lives.

0:13:11.066,0:13:13.765
It can often feel like it's impossible

0:13:13.765,0:13:16.140
to heal our hearts and our minds

0:13:16.140,0:13:17.274
and to grow,

0:13:17.274,0:13:20.796
but I truly believe that we all have[br]the resources within ourselves

0:13:20.796,0:13:21.914
to do just that.

0:13:21.914,0:13:26.519
The challenge is often identifying[br]and connecting with those resources,

0:13:26.519,0:13:29.618
and it may be that psychedelics[br]and music can help people

0:13:29.618,0:13:30.816
to do just that.

0:13:32.030,0:13:36.985
Together, psychedelics and music[br]may be able to open our minds to change

0:13:36.985,0:13:38.650
and direct that change,

0:13:38.650,0:13:42.033
reconnect us with our most[br]authentic selves

0:13:42.033,0:13:44.431
and allow us access to the things

0:13:44.431,0:13:47.194
that really allow us to make[br]meaning in this world

0:13:47.194,0:13:48.484
and reconnect

0:13:48.484,0:13:50.646
with our most authentic selves.

0:13:51.249,0:13:52.344
Thank you.

0:13:52.344,0:13:54.361
(Applause)