Psilocybin vs. SSRIs for Depression, Emotional Blunting & How Psychedelics Work | Robin Carhart-Harris | 310
Show notes
Robin Carhart-Harris explains why his trial of psilocybin therapy vs. the SSRI escitalopram for depression missed one primary measure but favored psilocybin on almost everything else, and why SSRIs can blunt emotion.
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TOPICS DISCUSSED:
• Consciousness Matters: Why the mind can drive biology, with placebo as the clearest example.
• Expectancy and Response: How beliefs and the quality of the experience shape outcomes.
• The Psilocybin vs. Escitalopram Trial: Not significantly different on the primary measure, but ahead on nearly every other outcome.
• The Blinding Problem: Why double-blind designs barely work here, and the case for open-label trials.
• Emotional Blunting: SSRIs dampened brain responses to emotional faces; psilocybin did not.
• Sexual Dysfunction: Worse on the SSRI, improved after psilocybin therapy.
• What's Next: Metabolic markers, fibromyalgia and a new trial in young adults with depression.
*Not medical advice.
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