How does INDRAnet define “psychedelic”?
This website uses the term “psychedelic” broadly, to include substances used in similar medicine-assisted psychotherapy paradigms (e.g., MDMA). Research will initially focus on psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine-assisted treatment, but may be broadened to include other medicines (e.g., ayahuasca, 5-MEO-DMT, etc.) as the organization expands.
What research questions will INDRAnet investigate?
The selection of specific research questions will require input from both practitioners and researchers in the network (see our roadmap for more on timelines, and roles for an explanation of how each of these players will be involved). Therefore, we cannot predict exactly which research questions will be prioritized.
However, here are just a few examples of the kinds of research questions we can imagine pursuing:
- What kinds of sensory stimuli (visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory) improve outcomes? For example, are outcomes better in an indoor setting while wearing an eyemask or in an outdoor setting?
- How should exposure therapy be combined with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: should it take place before the medicine session, during, and/or after? At what dosage and frequency?
- What medicine should people choose? In other words, what personal and clinical characteristics predict whether someone will get more benefit from MDMA, psilocybin, or ketamine?
Will INDRAnet facilitate only surveys and observational studies?
We want to be able to draw causal conclusions about whether a particular therapeutic practice improves outcomes. Therefore, we aspire to conduct large-scale experiments in the “citizen science” tradition, in addition to collecting observational and naturalistic data.
How will INDRAnet ensure the confidentiality of practitioners and psychedelic medicine recipients, especially those operating in a legal gray area?
Whenever possible, data will be collected with no identifying information. When any identifying information must be collected, INDRAnet will consult with legal and information security professionals to devise means to protect those data. Data will be de-identified before sharing with researchers in the network.
Can individuals who use psychedelics for their own healing (patients/clients/psychonauts) join INDRAnet?
People who use psychedelics are an essential part of the INDRAnet ecosystem, but at present, we expect that they will provide data through the therapists, healers, or guides who are supporting them, rather than joining the network directly. This is not because we don’t value their wisdom or ideas—we very much do! It is only because we don’t want to duplicate or compete with the efforts of other existing networks that facilitate “citizen science” from individuals using psychedelics, for example, the Psychedelic Data Society in partnership with the Beckley Foundation.
With that said, we are unsure whether those networks plan to ask individuals using psychedelics about the research questions they most want to answer (vs. the questions therapists or guides have). If not, surveying those individuals and taking their research needs into account may be within scope for INDRAnet.