The Serotonin 2A Receptor Pt. 2: Effects on thinking and behaviour | The Psychedelic Brain Receptor

**Checkout My Free Neuroplasticity PDF Here: the-psychedelic-scientist.ck.... **
This is the second video in my two part series on the serotonin 2A (aka 5-HT2A) receptor - the brain receptor most important for psychedelic drug effects!
Following up on my last video where I described this receptor's effects on the brain, here I dive into the latest theoretical perspectives on what this fascinating brain receptor does in terms of our thinking and behaviour - both with psychedelics and when activated outside the context of drugs.
*** After reflecting on the video - I wanted to add that additional events that could induce serotonin 2A activation could be major life events: a death of a loved one, the end of a break up, getting fired from a job, being extremely overwhelmed by stress related to work or family, etc. An interesting link here is between 2A activation and what some have called 'spiritual emergencies' or 'the dark night of the soul'.
The video's organization is inspired by the following paper:journals.sagepub.com/doi/full...
Enjoy!
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More info about me:
Manesh Girn is a Neuroscience PhD student at McGill University and has been lead or co-author on over a dozen scientific publications and book chapters on topics including psychedelics, meditation, daydreaming, and brain networks.
Manesh currently has ongoing collaborations with Robin Carhart-Harris and others at the Imperial College Center for Psychedelic Research and is investigating the brain changes underlying psilocybin, LSD, and DMT.
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www.researchgate.net/profile/...

[@jessicakhurana1767]

You had me at "Serotonin is not the happiness molecule". I'm the killjoy that always follows that statement up with "Huh.. I guess that means it's the PUKING molecule too". It doesn't make me popular.

[@MushroomNurse]

This might be one of the best break downs of serotonin and how it works in the body I've ever heard!

[@ThePsychedelicScientist]

Thank you!!

[@Avatar_Sokka]

Absolutely love your channel, i have read some interesting things about the effects of music and nostalgia on a psychedelic experience, perhaps that could be a topic of another video.

[@user-cj1fu1dj5g]

incredibly clear ✨ thank u sooo very much🫶

[@erf00001]

Great overview. Thank you.

[@aquaboogie1993]

Thank you for the time spent researching and filming! 🙏 This series is helpful!

[@frothywalrus]

This was great, thanks!

[@andrewwsuk]

My favourite channel. Thanks for the knolwedge

[@yochillz6261]

these two videos have taught me more abut phycadelics than ive ever learn thank you so much we have to get your videos seen.

[@Convolutedtear]

this.is. amazing !!! thanks i love brains and i still learned a lot

[@ryanmcalder1]

Brilliant. Incredibly clear and informative. Would love to see you make vids on other major neurotransmitters and receptor families!

[@siobhanclarke809]

Hi Manesh - awesome video with solid science of therapeutics. Quick Question - (Perhaps I need to watch the video Part 1 again to understand the molecular distribution of the effect psychedelics has on on receptor more specifically S2a.) My question: If LSD creates a "overflow" of glutamate to come extent which results in disorganized regulation/modulation of neurons, would this result in too much upregulation of excitatory neurons and create a stress response such as anxiety?

[@architakhadka3872]

Hi! Could you talk about the mechanism of atypical antipsychotics vs psychedelics on 5HT2a receptors? Thanks, I really love your channel!

[@hesaysyestolife]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. In regards to one of your latter points about the psychedelic experience possibly bringing up fearful memories, it seems (in the case of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy) that the traing of the therapist is paramount to the success of the therapy. That being said, are there any books or training programs that you recommend to therapists that hope to deliver this type of service to their clients?

[@ashh9154]

great video, thanks a lot!! One question: Near death experiences can shape peoples lives and their perspectives, sometimes shifting them into a more positive and thankful direction. Could this be due to the 5-HT2A receptor?

[@andygreen7107]

Hey, great video, plenty of in-depth knowledge. Do you know of any supplements that can boost the 1a and 2a receptors? Thanks 🙏🏻

[@schimmel7173]

Hey, you have a great channel, I love your work and the way how you explain topics! Could you share your thoughts about DMT as a neurotransmitter? Cheers!

[@harisbiggy]

Hey Manesh, came across you on the Big Truth Podcast. Watched your fMRI in 10 mins video and absolutely loved it. I hope you become a prominent personality in this subject as you've already got dibs on the best name! If I could offer some technical advice, the audio in these two serotonin 2A receptor videos seems to be hitting the upper limit at times and causing a noticeable "buzz". I believe you can avoid this by turning the audio volume down when editing. I'm sure these little things will get ironed out as you grow and the quality of your videos improves. Best of luck and keep it up!

[@ThePsychedelicScientist]

Hey man, very much appreciated! And yes you're right that the audio isn't ideal here. One of the main issues is that the room I record in is very spacious and creates a lot of reverb, which is a pain to deal with and involves compromise. In any case, always looking to to improve - cheers!

[@naureenhossain1461]

"Serotonin is NOT the happiness molecule" 😂😂 Thanks for explaining this.

[@hs-tq7gu]

Totally fascinating! Apart from the importance of set and setting, are there other implications for psychedelic therapy?

[@ThePsychedelicScientist]

Apart from the essential importance of context (set and setting), there's the idea that challenging/fearful experiences which might be really uncomfortable in the moment can very possibly lead to positive outcomes (greater well--being, reduced anxiety, etc.) down the line. This is the point that short-term and long-term effects can be very different or even opposite. (Although, certainly, having an extremely fearful experience without proper support or resolution can very possibly lead to lasting negative effects - hence the importance of undergoing the experience in a therapeutic context or with a trained and reliable shaman/guide/facilitator).

[@ArtemMindsurfer]

Does microdosing activate 1A in a degree needed to boost self discipline a little bit? I mean if it’s an inhibitory receptor so it would be easier to stop eating sugar or something like that while microdosing ?

[@albagf6191]

I have this concept of that the brain tends to reach homeostasis, I mean that leads to reduce the receptors of x if x is often present over the normal.(what makes u tolerant to drugs). Could then happend that with microdosing (for example) that u are increasing always the A2 response (becouse the psicodelic works like an agonist of serotonina on the A2 receptors) the neurons would start producing less A2 receptors for reaching that basal state, and in consequence you would have less A2 response in absence of the substance??

[@onsightitify]

You're making my brain hurt! ;;;)

[@miseryparty3726]

Hold on, can activation of the 1A receptor help aid in alzheimer’s?

[@ArtemMindsurfer]

Bro, can you make a video or at least answer here by text and advice me some neuroscience books? I’ve quit university cuz I wanna learn for by myself not spending lots of money to pay for university. I wanna buy books and read read read and write. So, tell me please the most cool books?)

[@livevideosfordistinguished7079]

what about the long term effects?