- Research has shown that music played during a therapeutic psychedelic session can significantly impact the experience
- NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (NEON) has begun a three-phase university study to develop a music playlist to accompany therapeutic psychedelic sessions
- NeonMind is working with Dr. Frank Russo, a professor of Psychology at Ryerson University
- Each phase will help the team assess and fine-tune the playlist which will then be used in NeonMind’s clinical trials
- NeonMind is engaged in the research and development of products to optimize human health and performance
- NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (NEON) opened trading at C$0.235 per share
NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (NEON) has begun a three-phase university study to develop a music playlist to accompany therapeutic psychedelic sessions.
Previous research has established that music during a therapeutic psychedelic session can significantly impact the experience.
“The emotional arc of a musical playlist during a psychedelic session can play an important role in supporting someone’s therapeutic experience,” says Rob Tessarolo, President & CEO of NeonMind.
NeonMind is working with Dr. Frank Russo, a professor of Psychology at Ryerson University, who conducts research on the biological, cognitive, and social-emotional bases of music and speech at the Science of Music Auditory Research and Technology (SMART) Lab.
He is also an affiliate scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, a core member of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, and an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto’s Music and Health Collaboratory.
“Music can act as a pathway that is followed throughout the patient’s journey, taking them to places on an emotional level that they wouldn’t necessarily go without it. Working with Dr. Russo and his team means we’re able to scientifically investigate what have to date been assumptions about what makes a good playlist.”
NeonMind will conduct the research in three phases:
- an online playlist candidate validation study, surveying 50 people with relation to the self-transcendent emotions experienced when listening to snippets of longer musical tracks;
- an in-person playlist validation study at Ryerson’s SMART Lab; and
- a comprehensive in-person physiological validation study measuring biological markers to further substantiate the potential for self-transcendent emotions that the playlist in question generates.
“This is an exciting frontier to be a part of that dovetails nicely with several aspects of research that I’ve been conducting into the psychology of music throughout my career,” says Dr. Russo.
“Music without a psychedelic has the potential to generate self-transcendent emotions such as compassion and awe, which may be transformative; on the basis of past research on music and psychedelics, it seems that the music a person listens to during a therapeutic trip is a major determinant of the overall experience.
The playlist we are working towards takes various theoretical considerations into account, and the series of studies we’ve designed will enable us to iteratively assess and refine its efficacy.”
Each phase will help the team assess and fine-tune the playlist which will then be used in NeonMind’s clinical trials and for the enhancement of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy services.
NeonMind is engaged in the research and development of products to optimize human health and performance.
NeonMind has two divisions, a pharmaceutical division engaged in drug development of psychedelic compounds, and a consumer products division with a focus on mushroom-infused products.
NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (NEON) opened trading at C$0.235 per share.
