Matthew Baggott is a graduate student in neuroscience at UC Berkeley and a research associate at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. He is interested in the mechanisms and effects of MDMA and hallucinogens, and in what they can tell us about the working of the brain and consciousness. His ongoing research includes measuring the cognitive, social, and emotional effects of MDMA, LSD, and methamphetamine in humans. Links to some of his relevant publications can be found here.

Matthew Baggott

Baggott also writes an outstanding blog, Psychedelic Research, which focuses on the intersection of two contemporary research trends — the resurgence of human research with psychedelics, begun in the mid-1990s by Rick Strassman, Franz Vollenweider, and others; and the serious study of consciousness by prominent neuroscientists such as Francis Crick. “These two research areas are starting to converge in interesting ways,” Baggott writes. “This website aims to track this convergence and point out interesting findings.”

If you are interested in following the latest findings of neuroscience relating to psychoactive substances and consciousness, this blog is indispensable.