In this episode, Dmitry Repin, PhD joins to discuss the intersection of bodily movement and psychedelics. Dr. Repin is the co-founder of the Institute for Psychedelic Research at Tel Aviv University, holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, and is the producer and creative force behind the Everything Else Matters documentary.

In this conversation, Dr. Repin explores how psychedelics may influence movement, proprioception, and motor learning, drawing from his background in neuroscience and his transformative experiences with dance practices like Gaga. He describes his team's innovative clinical study pairing psilocybin with guided movement training to investigate whether altered states can open temporary windows of enhanced plasticity for learning new movement patterns. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Repin reflects on why so many people feel inhibited in their bodies, how psychedelics might soften these constraints, and what traditional movement-based ceremonies can teach modern clinical research about embodiment, healing, and the relationship between perception and action.

In this episode, you'll hear:

How dance and Gaga inspired Dr. Repin's scientific interest in movement during psychedelic states

Kinesiophobia and why many people experience fear, shame, or inhibition around movement

Why Dr. Repin chose psilocybin for his study on psychedelics and movement

How Dr. Repin's study measures movement changes using optical tracking and multi-dimensional metrics

What makes Gaga movement practices unique compared to other approaches to dance and movement

The structure of the psilocybin-plus-movement protocol developed at Tel Aviv University

How psychedelics may temporarily enhance motor learning through shifts in proprioception and neuroplasticity

What ritual and communal dance contexts reveal about the embodied dimensions of psychedelic experiences

Quotes:

"If we understand those [neurological] mechanisms, we can try to influence certain situations where people have deficits related to movement." [4:47]

"For example, when I go to a dance training session [after a recent psychedelic experience], I find that I actually internalize movement patterns much faster than I do otherwise—and it's noticeable to my dance teacher." [8:56]

"Part of the hypothesis that we have is that certain qualities or dimensions of movement might be affected more or less by psychedelics than others and that potentially, will give us some insights into the specific brain mechanisms because certain different types of movement sometimes require different circuits to engage in different parts of the body." [19:47]

"Some initial wisdom, some anecdotes, or some best practices that have been developed within those non-clinical settings may be very useful to inform clinical—and maybe other—areas that use psychedelics." [27:03]

Links:

Everything Else Matters documentary

The Institute for Psychedelic Research at Tel Aviv University

Dr. Repin on LinkedIn

Dr. Repin on X

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode, Psychedelic Medicine Podcast host, Dr. Lynn Marie Morski, provides the latest updates from the field of psychedelic medicine. Dr. Morski discusses the breakthrough therapy designation which a number of psychedelic compounds have received in the past few years, the most recent of which is BPL-003, a nasal spray formulation of 5-MeO-DMT. One of the exciting aspects of this new compound, Dr. Morski notes, is that it is shorter-acting than most serotonergic psychedelics—a feature which may make treatment with this substance less expensive and more accessible.

Another exciting development is the COMPASS Pathways phase 3 trial of COMP360 psilocybin. Dr. Morski shares that the company believes they are nine to twelve months ahead of schedule, which means that if all goes well, this psilocybin compound could be approved for treatment resistant depression as early as sometime in 2027. She also discusses why the US FDA said they rejected MDMA for PTSD and what this governing body would like to see from subsequent research before reconsidering this decision. In closing, Dr. Morski shares excitement about the development of novel psychoplastogens—the non-hallucinogenic psychedelics—which may help bring many of the same healing benefits to populations currently unable to be served by the existing compounds under investigation.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Which psychedelics currently have breakthrough therapy designation and for which indications
• Details of recent ketamine research for inpatient depression care and why these results are not as negative as they may seem
• The current horizons of psychedelic research and what indications may soon be explored
• Sources of hope in the current state of psychedelic research and the legal landscape

Quotes:

"[BPL-003] showed rapid and durable antidepressant outcomes after a single dose. … here we have something that is under an hour [of psychedelic experience] for treatment resistant depression." [7:43]

"Keeping patients blinded to whether or not they got the placebo or MDMA is a big focus that [the FDA] wanted to emphasize for these future phase 3 trials." [19:07]

"I know we had a big setback last year. I think a lot of us thought by this time we'd be a year into MDMA being approved and we're not. However, there are so many things on the horizon that are worth being excited about." [23:48]

Links:

Psychedelic Medicine Podcast on Instagram

Psychedelic Medicine Podcast on YouTube

Jelovac A, McCaffrey C, Terao M, et al. "Serial Ketamine Infusions as Adjunctive Therapy to Inpatient Care for Depression: The KARMA-Dep 2 Randomized Clinical Trial" JAMA Psychiatry, 2025.

Beckley Psytech Limited Phase 2 Trial: BPL-003 Efficacy and Safety in Treatment Resistant Depression

COMPASS Pathways Phase 3 Trial: Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of COMP360 in Participants With TRD

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Complete Response Letter (CRL) to Lykos Therapeutics, declining to approve MDMA-assisted therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Psychedelic Alpha Psychedelic Drug Development Bullseye Chart

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui

In this episode Matthew Hicks, ND, MS joins to dive into the topic of psilocybin-assisted group therapy for depression. Dr. Hicks is a research Investigator at the National University of Natural Medicine as well as a Naturopathic doctor and licensed psilocybin facilitator at Synaptic Institute.

In this conversation, Dr. Hicks shares findings from one of the first studies investigating psilocybin-assisted group therapy for depression, conducted in Oregon's new legal psilocybin framework. He explains how the high cost and labor-intensive nature of psychedelic therapy inspired him to explore a group model that could make treatment more financially accessible while preserving - and even enhancing - its therapeutic potential. Dr. Hicks describes the structure of the study and discusses how initial participant hesitancy about group work transformed into deep connection and shared healing. He also highlights the study's significant reductions in depression scores, improvements across quality-of-life measures, and the potential for group-based approaches to pave the way toward insurance reimbursement and broader access to psychedelic care.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why affordability and accessibility were central motivations for developing a group-based psilocybin protocol
• The benefits and challenges of conducting psilocybin sessions in a shared group setting
• How Dr. Hicks' study balanced inclusion of low-income participants with safety and stability criteria
• The details of the group treatment structure for Dr. Hicks' study
• Why Dr. Hicks believes group formats may be inherently therapeutic in addition to their economic efficiency
• Dr. Hicks's vision for future efficacy and cost-effectiveness studies that could enable insurance coverage

Quotes:

"In terms of the group dynamic, almost everyone in the intake process was very reluctant. They were trepidatious. They were a little worried about the group part of it. And almost everybody at the end of it, when we did the follow ups at the group, was amazing. People made friends. They felt really supported. They felt really seen by the process of hearing other people's journeys and the growth that they went through—and seeing some other examples of transformation was really powerful and was really encouraging to me." [10:29]

"So [there are] really positive aspects to doing this in a group format that's not just economic—it's not just cheaper to do this in group, it actually has therapeutic benefits that you miss out on when you only do this one on one." [11:12]

"That was always my question in the follow up sessions: 'did your participation in this study change the way you engaged in psychotherapy? Did it change the relationship with your therapist?' And a lot of people reported that it did. They felt they were able to open up and engage more deeply, be more introspective. And it did, in many cases, not all, improve their psychotherapy outcomes as well." [18:24]

"Some people reported that hearing someone else in the group crying for a bit really opened up something in them and they almost felt grateful for that. This other person is having a meaningful experience over there, and that's something they wouldn't have gotten on their own if they hadn't heard that person crying." [22:45]

Links:

Dr. Hicks on LinkedIn

Synaptic Institute website

Dr. Hicks' research at Synaptic Institute

National University of Natural Medicine website

Psychedelic Medicine Association

Porangui