Psychedelics and the Placebo Effect with Dr. Boris Heifets

Psychedelics and the Placebo Effect with Dr. Boris Heifets

March 13, 2025 · 48 min · Season 1 · Episode 9

About this episode

Dr. Boris Heifets discusses the latest research on psychedelics and their therapeutic potential under anesthesia.

Can psychedelics under anesthesia heal trauma? What is the latest research around ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin? That’s part of what we explore this week on Science of Perception Box. Stanford anesthesiologist Dr. Boris Heifets joins Dr. Heather Berlin and Dr. Christoph Koch to discuss the latest research on the first double-blind study on Ketamine, the placebo effect, and the therapeutic value of anesthesia-induced dreams. Dr. Boris Heifets, MD, PhD, is a board certified anesthesiologist who specializes in providing anesthesia for neurological surgery. He has practiced at Stanford since 2010. After completing residency training at Stanford, Dr. Heifets completed fellowship training in neuroanesthesiology, also at Stanford. In addition to treating patients, Dr. Heifets directs both clinical research and basic neuroscience. His research group studies how new rapid-acting psychiatric therapies like ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin produce lasting changes in nervous system function, behavior, and therapeutic outcomes. Dr. Heather Berlin is a neuroscientist, clinical psychologist, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. Heather Berlin, Dr. Christoph Koch

Guest: Dr. Boris Heifets

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, Allen Institute for Brain Science

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