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Applying Psychedelics to Field of Study

DancesWithFoxes

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How many psychologists or biologists on this site do hands on studies with psychedelics?

Have you had a hard time doing these studies?
Have you received criticism from your peers?
Almost lost your job?

What advice can you give me concerning how to go about studying these things and what my best career move may be?

I posted this on the introduction thread, but I'm interested in animal psychology, such as intelligence and sentience, and what the mental/physical effects are on animals when dosed with psychedelics?

I live in southern California, and I want to go to UC Davis. Do they have any good programs there for what I'm interested in? (I saw they have animal biology, animal behavior, and psychology.)

Anything else you think would be good information for me, please let me know :)
 
Neuro science maybe?? taking a shot in the dark.

I was thinking about this today , and i have a friend thats doing behavioural studies and says they study chemicals in the brain...im more so interested in studying
why DMT is in every living plant and creature and why our brain has no memory of experiencing DMT during REM sleep , i find a massive interest in it.

wanna know what DMT's purpose is in human's and why everything needs/has it. also our central nervous system is wired up for the DMT experience , just seems like
whatever its purpose is , is important. (i have not used DMT but would jump at the chance)
 
Neuro science maybe?? taking a shot in the dark.

I was thinking about this today , and i have a friend thats doing behavioural studies and says they study chemicals in the brain...im more so interested in studying
why DMT is in every living plant and creature and why our brain has no memory of experiencing DMT during REM sleep , i find a massive interest in it.

wanna know what DMT's purpose is in human's and why everything needs/has it. also our central nervous system is wired up for the DMT experience , just seems like
whatever its purpose is , is important. (i have not used DMT but would jump at the chance)

I'm learning more about research already being done with psychedelics. John Hopkins (the school) has published a lot of new information on psilocybin. Turns out everybody who used it was right, it actually is very useful as a tool for therapy.

I posted recently on a psychology forum asking what these researchers go through to do the research and received a bit of grief over it.

Some dude actually started trolling me, and I made the mistake of arguing back. Lol I finally snapped and told him to go eff himself in the a with scissors, which I'm not proud of honestly. I completely discredited myself. Luckily it was all anonymous. I think they may have banned me from the forum, I actually didn't check.

I'm not a mean person, but he made me so mad. I really dislike my character being questioned.

If you'd like to see the post, here's the link: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=11591647#post11591647

But on the subject of DMT, I didn't find it to be so amazing, but that may be because my first experience with it was on the come down from psilocybin. I guess everything else would pale in comparison.
 
Lol I may just stick to Psychology. It's the closest thing I can think of. I could do neuroscience but that would take a LONG time to do lol I don't want to spend the rest of my life in college XD And I don't think I'm quite smart enough. I can barely keep my head above water in my intermediate algebra class ^_^;;
 
To get to do research like that would absolutely, 100%, definitely, require a PhD if you went the psychology route. Although getting a bachelor's in psychology won't involve a lot of math or biology-type work, getting that PhD will. There will be a lot of math involved when you get into statistical analysis of research data, and if you get into the biochemistry of how drugs work in the body/brain at all, there will be some math involved in that as well.
 
To get to do research like that would absolutely, 100%, definitely, require a PhD if you went the psychology route. Although getting a bachelor's in psychology won't involve a lot of math or biology-type work, getting that PhD will. There will be a lot of math involved when you get into statistical analysis of research data, and if you get into the biochemistry of how drugs work in the body/brain at all, there will be some math involved in that as well.

Then I'll have to study twice as hard as I have been! I used to be good at math, but more recently it's been difficult for me. I think it may be because this class is more advanced than my previous classes and we're learning at a faster rate than before. I have plans to join a program at my school that offers specialized classes to help people do better.
 
Yeah math is definitely something that comes and goes with practice, and also has a lot to do with the way it was taught to you in the first place. I had a pretty tough time with math when I started out in college. I had a very poor preparation for math in my high school math classes - I was just taught the memorization way and "tricks" to solve problems, but I really didn't understand how to fully relate numbers to reality. But after some college-level math with a lot better instruction, I got caught back up to speed where I needed to be, and am now in a PhD program for chemistry.
 
Yeah math is definitely something that comes and goes with practice, and also has a lot to do with the way it was taught to you in the first place. I had a pretty tough time with math when I started out in college. I had a very poor preparation for math in my high school math classes - I was just taught the memorization way and "tricks" to solve problems, but I really didn't understand how to fully relate numbers to reality. But after some college-level math with a lot better instruction, I got caught back up to speed where I needed to be, and am now in a PhD program for chemistry.

Oh wow, that really gives me some hope :) Thank you
 
Lol I may just stick to Psychology. It's the closest thing I can think of. I could do neuroscience but that would take a LONG time to do lol I don't want to spend the rest of my life in college XD And I don't think I'm quite smart enough. I can barely keep my head above water in my intermediate algebra class ^_^;;

Why don't you be a Pharmaceutical Chemist... get a Ph.D. in... Medicinal Chemistry? or organic chemistry (can't remember) and have a 2 year internship (8-10 years total) and get synthesizing
Federal Executive Branch Employed Chemists $100,000+
Scientific Research & Development Chemists $80,000+
The median Chemist's salary with a Ph.D. is $100,000
Get synthesizing

PSYCHIATRIST - Because you get to be in other people's business, and you study Psychiatric Medicine (ALL psychoactive drugs) (10-13 years total)
(you get a bachelors, you can major in ANYTHING, and then go to med school 4 years and make Psychiatry your field of study, I think there is accelerated 3 year med schools)
(plus like a 4 1/2 year intern-study thing... but you still make money, you just have to learn some neurology and such before you can have your own practice)
Psychiatrist reqs are 6-8 years... and you'd make 3-4x+ the amount of money STARTING SALARY
Average Psychiatrist Salary: $200,330
Average Psychiatrist Salary - Less than 5 years of experience: $194,214

Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology is like 7-8 years... wouldn't really recommend it... psychoactive substances are hardly part of it compared to Psychiatry

$80,000 is the average Psychologist salary

Pharmacist... study pharmacology - It is all drugs, including psychoactive ones
4 year bachelors, 2-4 years Pharmacist School (6-8 years total)
Starting salary at Walgreens? $125,000



P.S. Yeah, math is a part of everything related to any science... (in response to your post)
 
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I'm still standing by my statement if you want an actual Psychopharmacology job (EXACTLY what you're looking for)

Major in Biochemistry and get an M.D. (yeah, they require an M.D.)
BA degree & M.D. 6-8 years (estimated 8 yrs)
BA degree & M.D. then MA 8-11 years (estimated 10 yrs)
BA degree & M.D. then Ph.D 8-12 years (estimated 11 yrs)

Usually psychopharmacologists are MDs with residency in psychiatry and a post-doctorate fellowship.
For undergraduate, biochemistry would be good, along with as much neurology as the school offers along with the other life sciences.
I would look for a "pre-med" track at any of the schools where you apply.
 
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Why don't you be a Pharmaceutical Chemist... get a Ph.D. in... Medicinal Chemistry? or organic chemistry (can't remember) and have a 2 year internship (8-10 years total) and get synthesizing
Federal Executive Branch Employed Chemists $100,000+
Scientific Research & Development Chemists $80,000+
The median Chemist's salary with a Ph.D. is $100,000
Get synthesizing

PSYCHIATRIST - Because you get to be in other people's business, and you study Psychiatric Medicine (ALL psychoactive drugs) (10-13 years total)
(you get a bachelors, you can major in ANYTHING, and then go to med school 4 years and make Psychiatry your field of study, I think there is accelerated 3 year med schools)
(plus like a 4 1/2 year intern-study thing... but you still make money, you just have to learn some neurology and such before you can have your own practice)
Psychiatrist reqs are 6-8 years... and you'd make 3-4x+ the amount of money STARTING SALARY
Average Psychiatrist Salary: $200,330
Average Psychiatrist Salary - Less than 5 years of experience: $194,214

Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology is like 7-8 years... wouldn't really recommend it... psychoactive substances are hardly part of it compared to Psychiatry

$80,000 is the average Psychologist salary

Pharmacist... study pharmacology - It is all drugs, including psychoactive ones
4 year bachelors, 2-4 years Pharmacist School (6-8 years total)
Starting salary at Walgreens? $125,000



P.S. Yeah, math is a part of everything related to any science... (in response to your post)

Like I said, I'm working on getting better in math, so maybe that won't hold me back after all :)

So out of all of these, which one is most likely to study how psychedelics are beneficial to people in terms of therapeutic effects?
Who typically hires to conduct these studies?

I want to do the same kind of research the people at John Hopkins are doing.
 
Like I said, I'm working on getting better in math, so maybe that won't hold me back after all :)

So out of all of these, which one is most likely to study how psychedelics are beneficial to people in terms of therapeutic effects?
Who typically hires to conduct these studies?

I want to do the same kind of research the people at John Hopkins are doing.

All I can tell you is a "Researcher" designs the study and requests approval to do it

I'd imagine someone such as a Biochemist
 
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