Princeton University

PsychU

A Revolutionary Application to Optimize Psychedelic Usage

Bevin Benson, Naomi Shifrin, Ayushi Sinha, and Kara Steele

Professor Justin Jungé

PSY409: Cyborg Psychology

May 12, 2020

I pledge my honor that this paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations.

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1. Introduction

We know a tremendous amount about what is going on in the heart of the atom, but we know absolutely nothing about the nature of the mind. 

-Terrence McKenna, psychonaut, writer, thinker

For thousands of years, human beings have sought to expand their consciousness and find long-lasting healing and pleasure through a variety of techniques and “magical rites” (Hofmann, 1980; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1983; Belouin and Henningfield, 2018). From natural forms like meditation, to ingestion of natural-growing psychoactive plants such as ayahuasca, psilocybin, mescaline, and peyote, human beings have sought spiritual and consciousness-expanding experiences. The latter substances, along with the notable lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are today characterized as “psychedelics” (Tanne, 2004). A term coined by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond in 1957, “psychedelics” translates directly to “mind-manifesting,” originating from the Greek terms of “psyche,” mind and soul, and “deloun,” to reveal (Williams, 1999; Tanne, 2004). Psychiatrists Grinspoon and Balakar later defined psychedelic drugs with precision:

“A psychedelic drug is one which, without causing physical addiction, craving, major physiological disturbances, delirium, disorientation, or amnesia, more or less reliably produces thought, mood, and perceptual changes otherwise rarely experienced except in dreams, contemplative and religious exaltation, flashes of vivid involuntary memory and acute psychoses” (Grinspoon and Balakar, 1979:9).

Theorists of altered states of consciousness, commonly referred to as “psychonauts,” have been around for nearly as long as users themselves. Some psychonauts claim that consciousness itself evolved partially as a result of such psychoactive substances (Albert, 1993:230-232).

In 1938, Swiss physician Albert Hofmann, often considered to be the father of psychedelic science, created the world’s first batch of “medicine for the soul”: lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the first synthetic psychedelic substance (Williams, 1999; Tanne, 2004). On the globe’s notable first trip, Hofmann first consumed the substance on April 16, 1943 (Hobson, 2001:253). Throughout, Hofmann wrote that he "perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors” (Hobson, 2001:254). For Hofmann, the experience “[shattered] the unity of the ego” and “opened the Pandora’s box of the unconscious” (Stevens, 1987:13). Following Hofmann’s discovery of the power of psychedelics to induce states akin ranging from psychosis itself to profound ecstasy, medical professionals began investigating the role of psychedelic substances in medicine.

By 1965, medical researchers in psychiatry and the newfound fields of psychopharmacology and neuropsychopharmacology had published over 1,000 medical papers and multiple books on the efficacy of psychedelics for treating a variety of medical illnesses (Belouin and Henningfield, 2018). Dr. Timothy Leary, a Harvard University Professor of Psychology, began conducting studies at the Center for Research in Personality (Ulrich and Patten, 1991:574). He and others found promising evidence for the treatment of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and generalized neuroses (Belouin and Henningfield, 2018). In 1953, the U.S. government’s Central Intelligence Agency even heavily investigated LSD’s potential to serve as a truth-inducing drug in enemies for a project known as MK-ULTRA (Williams, 1999). Psychedelic drugs were deemed to hold much potential for a variety of human endeavors, from treatment of mental illness to techniques of war (Belouin and Henningfield, 2018).

Beginning in the 1950s and throughout the 1960s, the drugs expanded beyond the medical scene and became widely popularized. The spread of psychedelics began with medical professionals sharing the drugs with friends and family and soon expanded to their outward circles (Williams, 1999). Public figures, from medical professionals such as Dr. Timothy Leary to early Rock and Roll artists, sung the praises of psychedelics and their expansion of the minds of users. Leary abandoned his position at Harvard in pursuit of a “psychedelic road show” to spread the ideals of psychedelics and their educational purposes (Ulrich and Patten, 1991:575). He exhorted the masses to try the “exalted spiritual experience,” explaining: “Once you have taken that sacrament [LSD], you are out of your mind and have come to your senses” (Ulrich and Patten, 1991:575). The Beatles crooned to their fans, “turn off the mind… float downstream…” (Stevens, 1987:xvi). Poet Allen Ginsberg implored a Boston congregation in 1966,

”...Everybody who hears my voice, directly or indirectly, try the chemical LSD at least once; every man, woman, and child American in good health over the age of fourteen… go to nature, find a kindly teacher or Indian peyote chief or guru guide, and assay their consciousness with LSD” (Stevens, 1987:xvi)

Thousands gathered to celebrate psychedelic-induced consciousness-expansion, from Dr. Timothy Leary’s 1966 League for Spiritual Discovery to the Trips Festivals of 1966 to music festivals such as Woodstock (Stevens, 1987:xv). These times were full of the potential for exploration; as Dr. Leary implored users, “Tune in, turn on, drop out” (Stevens, 1987:xv). Though the potential and enthusiasm for psychedelics seemed endless in the early 1960s, they were quickly stifled.

Psychedelic use in medical experimentation came to a screeching halt in 1965. A culmination of growing skepticism about the potential harmful side effects of LSD, the U.S. government passed the Drug Control Amendments in 1965 (Williams, 1999). Possession and use of LSD was heavily restricted, and medical experimentation with the drug subsequently all but stopped (Williams, 1999). The U.S. government publicized findings that LSD created long-term chromosomal damage, though these studies were soon deemed ill-founded (Ulrich and Patten, 1991:575). Soon after, the U.S. government passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, a more stringent measure to fully restrict recreational use and medical research of psychedelic substances (Belouin and Henningfield, 2018). Psychedelics were designated Schedule 1 substances, meaning they were considered to have a “high abuse potential with no accepted medical use” and could no longer be “prescribed, dispensed, or administered” (Gabay, 2013). Other nations quickly followed suit with similar restrictions, with pressure from the United States (Williams, 1999). Psychedelic research endeavors halted for two decades.

        The motivations behind these restrictions are contested. Studies in the 1960s, notably Sidney Cohen’s 1962 paper, indicated potential negative side effects of psychedelics, though none were conclusive (Cohen, 1962; Novak, 1997). NYC psychiatrist William Frosch noticed a rise in LSD-related admissions in 1965, notably for those with a history of psychiatric illness (Stevens, 1979:272). Medical professionals and Time magazine alike asserted a fear that “psychotic illness resulting from the unauthorized, non-medical use of the drug LSD-25” was on the rise (Ibid). Many historians and medical professionals, however, attribute the restrictions to fears from the U.S. government about the associations between LSD and the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Recreational psychedelic use was associated with various facets of counterculture, including anti-Vietnam-war protests, Women’s Liberation, left-wing liberalism, the rise of Rock and Roll, the Beat poets generation, and socialism (Novak, 1997; Williams, 1999). By their very definition, these movements pushed against the tides of conservative, traditional America, questioning and unsettling norms. The association of psychedelics with counterculture in and of itself would have been enough to encourage governmental backlash against the movement. Stevens argues, however, that “Red Scare” fears further entrenched federal motivatations to suppress the psychedelic movement (Stevens, 1979:276). With the advent of the Cold War in 1945 and the rise of McCarthyism of the 1950s, widespread fears of communism coincided with the rise of the psychedelic movement. Psychedelics and its left-wing, socialist associations posed a threat and even held the potential to “[sap] the will [of Americans] to confront Soviet aggression” (Stevens, 1979:279).

Given its social associations, according to historian Stevens, “Halting the spread of LSD became part of the national agenda” (Stevens, 1979:276). Sidney Cohens himself, a staunch adversary of the psychedelics movement in the 1960s, revealed the sentiments behind this agenda while on trial at the Congressional Hearings on LSD in 1966:

“We have seen something which in a way is most alarming, more alarming than death in a way. And that is the loss of all cultural values...these people...are deculturated, lost to society, lost to themselves” (Stevens, 1979:277).

The counterculture movement was equated with the breakdown of traditional American family (and Christian) values and the loss of productive members of society, in exchange for useless, drugged-out hippies plagued by a “solipsistic, negativistic existence” (Stevens, 1979:277). As psychedelic author and mystic Terrence McKenna explained:

“Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behaviour and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong” (McKenna).

Psychedelics bred non-compliance in an environment that feared it. Thus, fears around LSD and subsequent government crackdowns were motivated not purely by science. Social and political interests played a distinct role in the legal restrictions placed on psychedelic substances (Novak, 1997).

From the 1990s and through today, research in psychedelics has resurged. In 2000, the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research became the first group to gain regulatory approval for psychedelics research in the United States and has since become the world’s largest center for the study of psychedelics (Hopkins Psychedelic). New York University, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Imperial College London, the University of Basel, and the University of Zurich are now investigating the medical potentials behind psychoactive substances (ICPR, 2020). Most of these initial investigations have yielded strikingly promising results. Yet, the scientific community still understands very little about the psychological and neurological impacts and potential for psychedelic usage. Furthermore, given that research on psychedelics has largely been halted for half a century, guides for recreational use to induce such “divine” experiences as those described by Hofmann and Leary are limited, expensive, and thus inaccessible to most. We step in to fill this gap. We propose a revelatory app, PsychU, to allow users an optimally safe, productive, and meaningful experience.

We have been to the moon, we have charted the depths of the ocean and the heart of the atom, but we have a fear of looking inward to ourselves because we sense that is where all the contradictions flow together.

-Terrence McKenna

2. Literature Review

1. Overview of Psychological Research

        Controversy exists in societal consciousness around the topic of whether or not psychedelics drugs induce “temporary madness or valuable self-transcendence”, as Osmond expresses: “To fathom Hell or soar angelic/Just take a pinch of psychedelic” (Osmond, 2007; Tanne, 2004). Research on psychedelics has expanded since 2000 with mixed results, more positive than not.

        Psilocybin has been shown to have strongly positive effects in the treatment of a variety of mental illnesses. Griffiths (2016) and Ross et al. (2016) both found compelling evidence that those with severe life-threatening cancer, in an end-of-life stage, became significantly less depressed and anxious after treatment with psilocybin (Griffiths, 2016; Ross et al., 2016). Carhart-Harris further demonstrated that psilocybin can be useful to improve outcomes for treatment-resistant depression (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016). The improvement of those with long-term treatment-resistant depression was greater for those who had better “quality of the acute psychedelic experience,” demonstrating the impact of the quality of the psychedelic experience on the efficacy of treatment (Roseman et al., 2017). Psilocybin has been found to be efficacious in the treatment of addiction as well. Johnson et al. found that those treated with psilocybin were much more likely to recover from tobacco addiction (Johnson et al., 2014). Garcia-Romeu, Griffiths, and Johnson had similar findings in their 2014 trial (Garcia-Romeu et al., 2014). Bogenschutz et al. determined that psilocybin improves outcomes for those undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse disorder, in studies in both 2015 and 2018 (Bogenschutz et al. 2015 and Bogenschutz et al., 2018).

Other psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, LSD, and MDMA, have shown similar positive efficacy in the treatment of mental illnesses. Gasser et al. found that those with life-threatening illnesses had sizable decreases in anxious affect following psychotherapy-assisted LSD (Gasser et al., 2015). Similarly, cancer patients with “existential distress” as a result of their end-of-life reality became significantly less distressed after treatment with psilocybin (Johnson and Griffiths, 2017). In a randomized control trial, Ot'alora et al. and Mithoefer et al. found compelling and strong effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy on outcomes of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder as compared to a control group (Ot'alora et al., 2018 and Mithoefer et al., 2019). Danforth et al. (2016) found significant evidence that MDMA significantly reduced social anxiety amongst autistic adults. Several studies have found strong evidence that psychodynamic therapy outcomes are improved with assistance from psychedelics (Johnson, 2018).

        Both psilocybin and LSD have been shown to provide users with a heightened, spiritual experience, often thought of as one of the most spiritual of their lives (Griffiths et al., 2019). As Pollan describes in his 2018 book How to Change Your Mind, “Even the most secular among them [users] come away from their journeys convinced there exists something that transcends a material understanding of reality: some sort of a “Beyond” (Pollan, 2018:87). Scholars have referred to these encounters with the “Beyond” as “subjective God encounter experiences,” referring to deep spiritual encounters with a traditional God or an atheistic equivalent (Griffiths et al., 2019). In a 2008 study, Griffiths et al. found that psilocybin users had heightened perceptions of personal meaning and spirituality, as well as a stronger sense of personal well-being and life-satisfaction, even 14 months after a trip (Griffiths et al., 2008). In 2019, Griffiths et al. surveyed users of no drugs, ayahuasca, psilocybin, LSD, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) for evidence of such experiences (Griffiths et al., 2019). Their results were striking: use of the latter four substances was found to be “among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant lifetime experiences” of users, with “moderate to strong persisting positive changes in life satisfaction, purpose, and meaning,” with ayahuasca users reporting the strongest and most persistent positive impacts (Griffiths et al., 2019). Yaden et al. found that users of psychedelics had more “intensely mystical” experiences, resulting in a reduction of fear of death, greater sense of life purpose, and greater lasting spirituality, in comparison to non-psychedelic users who reported undergoing mystical experiences (Yaden et al., 2019). These studies point to the possibility of psychedelics to induce remarkably mystical and life-changing experiences in users.

        As with all such “powerful compounds,” psychedelic drugs have the potential to lead to harm and ought to be used with caution (Johnson, 2018). While the drugs are not physiologically addictive, users can and do abuse them (Johnson et al., 2008). Furthermore, prolonged psychosis is a potential risk of psychedelic usage, though this occurs in very few (McGlothin and Arnold, 1971). Cohen (1960) found that only one volunteer of 1200 users in a study of LSD administration experienced psychosis 48 hours after the drug was administered. McGlothin and Arnold (1971) similarly found that only one of 271 participants experienced psychosis 48 hours after the drug was administered (this individual had also uniquely taken LSD several times over the course of several psychotherapy treatments). Additionally, though psychedelics have notably shown “low physiological toxicity,” and do not seem to “result in organ damage or neuropsychological deficits,” users do risk development of hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) (Johnson et al., 2008). HPPD causes users to “re-experience perceptual effects similar to those experienced under acute hallucinogen action after cessation of hallucinogen use” in an impairment to functioning or “clinically distressing” fashion (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). HPPD has been shown to occur exceedingly rarely, however, though exact incidence is not known (Johnson et al., 2008).

Furthermore, given psychedelics’ intense powerful psychological impacts, they have the capacity to induce “bad” trips. Carbonaro et al. (2016) surveyed the negative experiences of those who had had “bad trips” on psilocybin. They found that 39% of users rated these experiences as one of five most challenging of their entire lives, while 7.9% users had enduring psychological symptoms and sought treatment as a result (Carbonaro et al., 2016). Three of the 1993 individuals surveyed attempted suicide and three faced the onset of psychosis following their trip (Carbonaro et al., 2016). The difficulties that one experienced was positively correlated with dosage, however (Carbonaro et al., 2016). Furthermore, McCabe (1977) and Grof (1980), among other clinicians, hypothesize:

“...the possibility that unconscious psychological material may be activated during hallucinogen sessions, and that such material, if not properly worked through and psychologically integrated, may lead to psychological difficulties of a non-psychotic nature, such as negative emotions and psychosomatic symptoms, lasting beyond the session” (Johnson et al., 2008).

Thus, it is possible that through properly processing one’s experience and the potentially challenging and likely intense psychological material resulting from the psychedelic usage, a user can avoid prolonged psychological difficulties and rather benefit from increased access to their subconscious and unconscious psyche.  

The risk of any of these deficiencies from psychedelic usage can be significantly reduced. Johnson et al. (2008) recommends that those with family histories of psychosis remain particularly cautious and informed when using psychedelics and safeguards against risks. Carbonaro et al. (2016) and Johnson et al. (2008) further concludes that users are at very low risk of experiencing “persisting adverse reactions” when taking psilocybin in a controlled, clinical or laboratory setting with experts. To optimize their experience in a clinical session, users are recommended to carefully prepare for the session, to remain aware of the potential visual and mental intensity of the experience, and to receive interpersonal support throughout from people they trust (Johnson et al., 2008).Furthermore, risk can be significantly mitigated through paying special attention to set (mental state pre-usage) and setting (the physical environment of the“trip”) (Johnson et al., 2008). The most risk of all, Johnson (2018) notes, result when psychedelics are used by the “incautious and unwise” (Johnson, 2018).

In conclusion, psychedelics pose potential for significant benefit and harm. Users are encouraged to exercise significant caution. More extensive research on the potential harms and gains of various psychedelic substances is necessary.

B. Overview of Neurophysiological Research

LSD and psilocybin or the “classic psychedelics” as we commonly refer to them are tryptamines derived from tryptophan (Chemistry, Structures & 3D Molecules, 2020). This is important in how they affect the brain, because serotonin, a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in our brain is also derived from the amino acid tryptophan (Chemistry, Structures & 3D Molecules, 2020). Because of their common precursor, these psychedelic molecules have similar structure to serotonin and are able to bind to serotonin receptors (Chemistry, Structures & 3D Molecules, 2020). LSD and psilocybin have a particular affinity for the serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (Vollenweider et al., 1998). Vollenweider and colleagues made this discovery by first giving a subject psilocybin as a baseline to get a sense of the drug’s effects (Vollenweider et al., 1998). The subjects then received an injection of ketanserin, a 5-HT2A antagonist, that blocked these 5-HT2A receptors (Vollenweider et al., 1998). With the blocking of the 5-HT2A receptors the psychedelic effects of psilocybin were no longer observed which allowed Vollenweider et al. to make the conclusion that these drugs bind to the 5-HT2A receptors to create their psychedelic effects (Vollenweider et al., 1998).

The effects of these drugs on the brain go beyond just binding to 5-HT2A receptors. After binding to these receptors these psychedelics cause large scale changes in brain dynamics (Lord et al., 2019). In a recent study of the brain state dynamics in psilocybin users, Lord and colleagues found through fMRI imaging and BOLD phase locking pattern analysis that when a subject had psilocybin administered by intravenous infusion their brain was more likely to settle into a highly integrated state of global coherence (Lord et al., 2019). This means that there were more connections between different areas or modules in the brain (Pollan, 2018). In addition to findings that the brain settles into a state of more global coherence or interconnectedness, brain activity of those on psychedelics has also been found to be less synchronized as there are disruptions to standard activity patterns including changes in typical brain state dynamics and in decreased alpha and delta wave power  (Lord et al., 2019; Carhart-Harris et al. 2016).

Additionally in the brain of a psychedelic user the Default Mode Network (DMN), a region in the brain responsible for cognitive integration and filtering in the brain, shows decreased activity (Pollan, 2018; Carhart-Harris et al., 2014; Carhart Harris et al., 2012). Much of the desynchrony and interconnectedness observed in the brain during psychedelic use is attributed to this decreased activity of the DMN (Carhart Harris et al., 2014; Carhart Harris et al., 2012). Consider: if the DMN is responsible for the filtering of information in the brain and controlling interactions between brain regions it would make sense that this region is less active when people are hallucinating or experiencing altered states of consciousness because the brain is not filtering information in the same way as it normally does (Pollan, 2018; Carhart Harris et al., 2012; Carhart Harris et al., 2014). In fact we see this to be true as decreased activity in the DMN and decreases in PCC alpha power have been shown to be significantly correlated with some of the subjective experiences of psychedelic users including a feeling of dissociation from the “ego” and visual hallucinations (Carhart Harris et al., 2016).

Other common subjective experiences of psychedelic users include visual alterations, changed meaning of percepts, feelings or insightfulness, unity and bliss, as well as impaired cognition, audio-visual synesthesia, religious experiences, and feelings of disembodiment (Vollenweider & Kometer, 2010). Vollenweider and Kometer (2010) found that subjects who took 115-125 µg/kg of psilocybin reported these subjective experiences and the intensity and prevalence of these experiences increased in subjects who took larger doses of psilocybin (215-270 µg/kg and 315 µg/kg doses were studied). These findings indicated the dosage dependent effects of these subjective phenomena (Vollenweider & Kometer, 2010). In addition to causing these subjective experiences, psilocybin has been shown to have other positive effects on personality (Erritzoe et al., 2018; MacLean et al., 2011). Erritzoe et al. (2018) found preliminary evidence that psychotherapy with psilocybin increased feelings of openness to values, ideas, and actions, as well as feelings of warmth and competence, while feelings of depression and vulnerability decreased even 3 months after the psilocybin treatment. MacLean et al. (2011) also found evidence for a heightened level of openness to persist for as long as a year after a high-dose psilocybin session.

While we have identified in this review many positive effects and benefits of psychedelics we also want to reiterate that LSD and psilocybin are still considered Class 1 substances by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA, 2020). This means that they still have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” (USDEA, 2020). For comparison other drugs in this class include marijuana and ecstasy (USDEA, 2020).  So as disclaimer we are not trying to encourage people to use these illegal Class 1 drugs; however, we have identified that these drugs, which are not physically addictive according to the San Diego Addiction Treatment Center, show a lot of  therapeutic potential and there already exists a large community of psychedelic users, so we think this is an extremely important topic to research and explore (Psychedelic Drugs and the Potential for Abuse, 2020).

C. Technology Precedents

        Psychedelics have largely existed separately from digital technology. Traditionally, shamans and trained guides have led psychedelic trips--rather than apps or other digital services. The emergence of digitally-enabled psychedelic tools is a rather new and underdeveloped phenomenon. However, from a survey we conducted on psychedelic experiences (see section “Survey on Psychedelic Experiences”), 80% of participants reported using their phone during psychedelic trips. Thus, we believe that there is a substantial opportunity here to develop an app that cannot only entertain or relax participants during their psychedelics experiences (as some apps on the market currently do), but can actually help users get the most out of these sessions.

        There have been a number of threads on Reddit that discuss the best apps to use during psychedelic experiences. Users have mentioned apps such as Fraksl, Melodive, and Forge of Neon, apps that allow users to generate their own fractal patterns or visualize music, activities that supposedly mimic the hallucinogenic visuals some users experience during psychedelic trips (“Apps to Play on LSD,” 2018). However, these apps are not advertised specifically for psychedelic experiences nor do they offer any goal planning or guidance.

        Two apps exist that are designed to assist people during psychedelic experiences or mimic the subconscious exploration characteristic of these experiences. Both of these apps are currently under development and are not yet available to the public. The first is Wavepaths, an app that uses AI to develop customized music that helps the user achieve their desired state of mind for therapeutic purposes (Cormier, 2017). Wavepaths’ founder Mendel Kaelen describes the app by saving: “Using immersive art, psychotherapeutic techniques, and intelligent technologies, Wavepaths provides new ways to become more intimate with ourselves and others, to listen to what our emotions are telling us, to explore what can be discovered in the depths of our own minds, and to drive meaningful changes in our personal lives” (Cormier, 2017). The primary way the app achieves this is by “creat[ing] unique musical scores tailored to every listener based on their tastes and psychological needs, such as the need to calm anxiety, or to soothe rage” (Cormier, 2017). Music is a tool that has long been used in therapeutic settings and can help to reduce anxiety and relieve pain (Harvard Health, 2016). In our survey, 87% of participants reported listening to music during their psychedelic trips.

        The second app, Lumenate, was recently pitched to the public on the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter (“Lumenate: The Psychedelic Meditation App,” n.d.). It calls itself “a psychedelic meditation app” and purportedly helps users achieve a deeper state of consciousness through stroboscopic light. While the app itself is still just an idea, the founders have demonstrated the psychedelic effect of stroboscopic light therapy through group sessions at Imperial College’s Centre for Psychedelic Research. It is unclear whether these effects can be replicated through a mobile device, but its emergence suggests that there is growing interest in mobile apps that can help people explore altered states of consciousness.

        In contrast to apps for psychedelic experiences, there has been a surge of self-help apps. One prominent category of self-help apps are apps that promote mindfulness and guided meditation, such as Calm and Headspace. Similar to our idea for PsychU, Calm and Headspace offer an abundance of scientific-backed, professionally produced content (Calm Science, n.d.; The science behind meditation, n.d.). A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that examine the efficacy of smartphone apps in ameliorating depression find that mindfulness apps are “promising self-management tool[s] for depression” (Firth et. al., 2017). This suggests that apps have the potential to encourage positive mental states in their users. There are other apps that use scientific backed approaches to help users achieve their goals. A weight-loss app called Noom uses research from psychology to help users set realistic goals and understand how to achieve them (Noom Inc., n.d.).

        Lastly, there is a class of task setting and tracking apps. Migraine Buddy is an app that helps users track migraine episodes along with other factors that coincide with their migraines to understand potential triggers and trace symptoms (Healint Pte. Ltd., n.d.). Period Tracker has a similar design, except it helps women track and find patterns in their menstrual cycle (GP International LLC, n.d.). More generic goal-setting apps, like the app Strides, help users set and track a goal in any category (Goals LLC, n.d.). PsychU draws inspiration from all of these apps, but is unique in that it is targeted at using goal-setting approaches from psychology to enable users to have more enriching, safer psychedelic experiences which none of the apps so far outlined claim to do.

        Though separate from mobile applications, the Internet plays a large role in informing users how to have safe and productive psychedelic experiences. Reddit is a hub for psychedelic discussion, where users discuss their experiences and get advice for all questions psychedelics-related. (However, most threads enforce a strict “No sourcing” policy, meaning that you cannot use the site to find sources for psychedelic substances, which remain illegal). Furthermore, a number of devoted users and believers in psychedelics have developed sophisticated websites that contain guides to having safe psychedelic experiences. The Third Wave is a website that provides psychedelic education, microdosing resources, and even an online microdosing course (The Third Wave, n.d.). Other websites, like Tripplingly.net provide resources, guides, and anecdotal blog posts describing psychedelic experiences (Trippingly, n.d.). These resources, while helpful at preparing a user for what he/she might experience, do not intend to provide help to users during their trips nor are the guides customized to fit their personal needs and goals.

        Despite the fact that the majority of users utilize their phones during their psychedelic experiences, no app exists to guide users through their trips. The guides that do exist (whether informal, through forums like Reddit, or official websites like The Third Wave) are intended to be used mainly in preparation for psychedelic trips instead of during the trips themselves. The only technology that seems to exist as an inter-trip tool is the app Wavepath. However, it is not yet available for download and is solely focused on music, instead of goal-setting and guiding. Therefore, we think there is ample room for an app like the one we propose with PsychU to provide significant benefit for people who use psychedelics for its positive effects on mood and sense of self.

III. Proposal 

1. Introduction

The research that we have outlined points to the great potential that psychedelic drugs have to treat depression and addiction, invoke introspection, and enhance creativity. Psychedelics offer a promising means of enhancing cognitive capacity and increasing the imaginative and introspective abilities of the human mind if they are used in a safe and monitored manner. Undoubtedly the safest and most effective way to “trip” is to hire a trained guide who can monitor you throughout the process, provide psychological support, and help maximize the transformative effect of the session. However, guides are hard to come by and expensive. As Michael Pollan said at Horizons, a leading psychedelic conference:

“The demand [for psychedelic therapy] far outweighs the supply and care we have, whether in clinical trials or in the underground. I was struck by how many people are really suffering. I wish people could just go to 1-800-Underground Guide” (Dunne, 2018).

We asked the question: is there a way to replicate the guided experience for psychedelic users to make trips safer and more effective? We came up with PsychU, a mobile app that provides users with information about how to safely trip, personalized recommendations, and a place to monitor and record their thoughts before, during, and after their psychedelic experiences.

2. Core Features (Version 1)

• Personalized recommendations for when, where, and how to trip or microdose

One of the primary purposes of a psychedelic guide is to provide you with guidance on dosage, ensure that the proper “set-and-setting” is created, and to advise you on what to expect during the experience. Set-and-setting a term first described by Dr. Timothy Leary at Harvard, is one of the most important factors in determining the character of a psychedelic experience (Hartogsohn, 2013). Leary claimed that “the character of a psychedelic experience is determined first and foremost by the user’s character, expectations and intentions (Set), as well as by the social and physical surrounding in which the drug experience takes place (Setting)” (Hartogsohn, 2013). Failure to be in a positive state of mind before a trip or to feel comfortable in your environment can result in a highly negative, potentially traumatic experience.

PsychU will use surveys designed by trained professionals to assess the user’s set-and-setting and provide a recommendation as to whether he/she is in a good state to proceed with the experience.

• Goal setting and storing to track your progress before and after your trips

Next, PsychU will guide the user through goal setting. Research finds that you are more likely to achieve your goals when you actively write them down and measure your progress over time (Matthews, 2020). PsychU will facilitate a goal-setting session prior to a trip and give users a space to reflect on their realizations after their goals. One’s goals for a psychedelic experience could be anything from “feel more at peace” to “come up with a new idea for song lyrics.” The goals will be saved so that users can measure their progress overtime.

• Monitoring assessments to track your state of mind and advise you during trips

Next, PsychU will enable users to record their state of mind anytime during the trip. By asking questions that gauge how a user is feeling at a current moment and tracking what kinds of activities they are engaging with during their trip, overtime, it will learn trends in user behavior and thought patterns. By using artificial intelligence to determine when someone is having a “bad trip” or to correlate the kind of activities that evoke a certain response, the app can provide the user with means of working through negative experiences. This will include recommendations to listen to certain kinds of soothing music, audio guides that reassure the user that they will get through an unpleasant phase, or suggestions for activities that typically make users feel more at ease and reflective, e.g., art making, yoga, etc.

According to Linnae Ponte, a volunteer for MAPS’ Zendo Project, which promotes “psychedelic harm reduction,” “[w]hen someone is having a difficult experience [with psychedelics], what they need more than anything is to feel safe and secure so that they can surrender to the experience, and that involves someone who is ready to compassionately listen to them or just hold space for them” (Short, 2013). By using reassuring language through soothing audio guides designed by professional guides, PsychU will help users work through negative experiences.

• Access to psychological support

Lastly, PsychU will include resources for users to turn to when they are in significant psychological distress. It will provide links to the National Suicide Preventation Hotline as well as the Crisis Text Line so that users can easily get ahold of help if their situation becomes dire.

3. Figures

See Appendix A and B for mock-ups.

4. Users

While PsychU is the solution for any psychedelic user who does not intend to hire a guide but is looking to have a safe and meaningful trip, we came up with a few prototypical user groups:

• People struggling with anxiety and depression

Given the potential for psychedelics to relieve anxiety and depression, PsychU would be a great tool for users who use psychedelics to relieve anxiety and depression but do not have access to a guide. PsychU would help ensure that their trips remain safe. In future versions, we envision developing a separate “Anxiety and Depression” track that provides guided audio sessions with a professional psychedelic guide who can help users work through their mental state.

• Self-experimenters

There is a growing category group of people who are interested in trying psychedelics for their cognitive enhancement properties either by microdosing or taking higher doses (i.e., tripping). One prototypical user would be Tim Ferriss, a notable self-experimenter and podcaster who has recently espoused the benefits of psychedelics for its cognitive and emotional benefits (Carey, 2019). This group would also include the Silicon Valley techies who have taken up the practice of psychedelic microdosing to improve creativity and productivity in their work (Lashbrook, 2018). PsychU’s goal-setting features would be of great benefit to this group of people who use psychedelics to achieve a specific goal.

• Recreational Users

Lastly, there is a class of people who just use psychedelics “for fun.” While we do not endorse this, we believe that PsychU has the potential to make trips safer for this category of user. By prompting these users with goal setting and assessment questions, we think that PsychU would help this group gain more from their psychedelic experiences than simply fun, such as by encouraging them to be more introspective, intentional, and creative.

5. Future Directions (Version 2)^[1]

The goal of Version 2 of our product is to create a space where the user can seamlessly integrate all of their thoughts, reflections, and information relating to their psychedelic use and processing of these experiences. In a nutshell, Version 2:

• Provides an interface that allows for increased integration of tools and resources;
• Provides tools to improve the reflection period of the user post trip or micro-dose;
• Collects data with the permission of the user for the advancement of research and to improve the experience of users.

After talking with people who have used psychedelics and surveying an online Reddit community for psychedelic users we have identified some areas where we can improve upon Version 1 to further enhance the experience of the user. The key findings informing Version 2 include finding ways to make the app functional for users who don’t necessarily want to be on their phone during their psychedelic use and prefer to engage in activities like journaling, art making, listening to music, or hanging with friends. We have identified that there is some desire of the community to be able to better remember their experiences, thoughts, and visualizations while tripping. Additionally, while some people like to use psychedelics in a therapeutic way it may not be easily affordable or accessible for all who want to have some guidance in this type of use. Finally from our research into the therapeutic potentials we have identified there is a gross need for more research on psychedelics and their use. Based on the gaps in the way Version 1 addresses the users’ needs and preferences and drawing on existing technologies as outlined in the technology precedent section and our research we propose PsychU: Version 2. The core features of Version 2 are grouped into four categories and outlined below:

1. Involving the brain:

• Guided meditation

Much of the inspiration for this section of the app and Version 2 as a whole comes from Michael Pollan’s book How to Change your Mind (2018). In his book Pollan considers the discoveries of Roland Griffith’s lab on the persistence of openness following a psychedelic experience and postulates that this reflects some type of learning in the brain (MacLean et al., 2011; Pollan, 2018:261). He goes on to say:

Learning entails the establishment of new neural circuits; these get stronger the more exercise they get. The long-term fate of the novel connections formed during the psychedelic experience—whether they prove durable or evanescent—might depend on whether we recall and, in effect, exercise them after the experience ends. (This could be as simple as recollecting what we experienced, reinforcing it during the integration process, or using meditation to reenact the altered state of consciousness). (261-262).

In 2011 Brewer et al. measured activity in the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices to determine the relative activation of the DMN in controls compared to experienced meditators during meditation. They found that these sites were less active during meditation in the meditators compared to the controls, which parallels what we see with psychedelics and the DMN activity (Brewer et al., 2011; Carhart-Harris et al., 2012). Also like with psychedelics, meditators were also seen to have increased overall neural connectivity compared to controls during meditation (Brewer et al., 2011). Because of this and the theories of Pollan we think this app could help users to reinforce the brain connections created during psychedelic use that yielded positive effects through meditation (Pollan, 2018:261-262). The integrative nature of the app would also allow meditation guidance to tap into some of the thought patterns indicated in the user’s journal entries, artwork, or goals.

2. Involving the body:

• Guided yoga and holotropic breathwork;
• Syncing capabilities with your wearable or smartphone to track biometric data before, during and after psychedelic use.

We include yoga, because of the long standing connection between yoga, mindfulness, and exploring consciousness and the mind and body (Rama, Ballentine, and Ajaya, 2014:64). Because of the similarities in the effect psychedelics and meditation have on the brain as discovered by Brewer et al. (2011) and Carhart-Harris et al. (2012) and the shared mindfulness ideologies of meditation and yoga as described by Rama et al. (2014) we think that yoga may also be able to reinforce some of the thought patterns cultivated by meditation and psychedelic use.

Holotropic breathwork was developed by LSD-psychotherapist Stanislav Grof, and as described by an expert in holotropic breathwork is a form of “intense, focused breathing” that is  combined with music and body work that can send those practicing into a psychedelic-light state (Preston, 2019). This practice presents as another way to potentially reinforce the neural patterns that occur in psychedelic states that produce positive experiences and changes in personality for the user.

We include a syncing capability to the users’ wearables or smartphones in order to increase the app’s ability to guide and inform the user, while increasing the safety of the user. Based on existing technologies like Garmin stress tracking and accident detection on their sports/heart rate watches and the new Apple Watch’s ability to detect abnormal patterns in heart rhythms we think syncing the app to your Apple Watch or other wearable can be both effective in the app’s ability to guide the user and optimize the user's trips and reflection periods, a well as provide key safety information (Garmin Watch Stress Level, Incident Detection on Edge Devices, Apple Watch Series 5 - Health & ECG). This data could indicate when the user is particularly stressed, lacking quality sleep, and/or at a higher risk for a negative trip. The ability of the wearable to track heart rate can also be an added safety feature of the app. Imagine the scenario where the user indicates that they want to start a trip and administers the proper dosage, but then after twenty minutes their heart rate goes through the roof and then shoots down to barely a pulse. The app could then alert the user’s emergency contact with previously granted permission of the user that something has gone awry. The syncing to a GPS watch or phone could also allow for a user who is solo tripping to set a reasonable window of where they are comfortable roaming while tripping. If the user strays outside of this roaming area the user’s emergency contact could also be alerted to come check on the user to make sure that they are not straying too far into the woods or towards a busy road in town.  

3. Involving the thoughts, ideas, creations and the arts:

• A daily integrated journal with smart-prompts and upload capabilities so that the user can seamlessly add in journal entries and artwork created offline while tripping, as well as notes and pictures from other experiences of awe or inspiration.
• Syncing capabilities with the user’s favorite music streaming platform.
• Machine learning pattern detection so that the app can use the users’ uploaded data to learn to detect patterns in users’ writing, art, and music preferences.

• The themes and patterns the app detects in the user’s journal entries, music preferences, and uploads as well as the user’s goals for their psychedelic use could be used to inform the journal’s smart-prompts.

The goal of the integrated daily journal is to allow the user to compile all of their information into one place and create a sort of scrapbook of all of their thoughts, creations, and music interests over time. Initially, users will have to tag themes, ideas, and motifs in their writing, art, and music, but as the app collects enough data to properly train up to detect these aspects on its own users will no longer have to tag these things themselves. As described in the “Technology Precedents” section above the app Wavepaths is already using music to optimize user experiences and work by Lorince and Todd (2017) sets a technological precedent for what can be gained by tagging music and collaborative tagging systems (Cormier, 2017; Lorince & Todd, 2017). For the art component we would look to implement systems similar to those used in Lecoutre et al. (2017). For the text classification we would implement technology similar to that used in Ikonomakis et al. (2005) (See also Topic Analysis, 2020). The identification of themes and patterns will be useful for the user to identify, with the help of the app, what thoughts and thought patterns occur when they are tripping, post-trip, pre-trip, and during other relevant time cycles. Inspired by Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy, identifying what themes are present could be useful in unpacking a psychedelic trip experience and aid in the uncovering of aspects of the subconscious mind (Schenberg, 2018). These themes and patterns detected, along with the goals the user sets for what they hope to gain from their psychedelic use will also inform the journal’s smart-prompts. Building off of studies on the effectiveness of revisiting goals and careful reflection, these smart-prompts could ask the user to consider how they are progressing to their goals (Matthews, 2015). These prompts also allow the app to gain more insight into what connections can be drawn between different thoughts and ideas detected in previous uploads and entries.

The journal section will resemble many of the currently existing daily journaling apps, but will also integrate technology like that used in the Pen to Print app, which allows users to take a picture of their handwritten text and the app converts it to digital text (Serendi systems LTD). Art can be uploaded with the phone’s camera, with the option to add comments on what inspired the art, what the artist likes or dislikes about the art, and whether the artist feels this piece of art is connected to any particular themes or ideas. The addition of being able to upload photos and videos of moments of wonder or awe is inspired also by Michael Pollan who postulates that these types of experiences may also put users into an altered state of consciousness or awareness (Pollan, 2018). We think the user will also appreciate that they can go back through and look at all of their journal entries, art, and music preferences. With an easy export option any of the journal entries and data can be exported and shared by the user if they so desire.

4. Involving the data and research:

• The ability to collect data from a large population of users to help inform future research and policy as well as improve user experiences.

We envision the user to have the option to:

1. Share user sync biometric data from their Apple Watch or smartphone;
2. Share their user demographic and use pattern data;
3. Share what leads to a positive (or negative) experience;
4. Participate in psychophysics surveys;
5. Contribute to a pool of data on subject experiences and cognitive themes presenting during and after a trip.

We include Option 1 because we want to learn more about how the body reacts to a trip or microdosing both during use and in the hours, days, and weeks after. We include Option 2 so that we can better understand who is using psychedelics and how often. On a large scale this knowledge can be important in informing future policy and executive decisions regarding these drugs. We include Option 3 so that with analysis we can provide tips to users on how to maximize their experiences and avoid negative experiences based on the responses of other users with similar use patterns, reflection preference patterns, and frequent topics of interest based on their journal entries and uploads. Inspired by a conversation with the member of the Princeton Psychonautics Club the aim of this Option 4 is to help collect data to advance the field of psychophysics and inform future studies in this field (E. Ahlstrand, personal communication, April 24, 2020). The surveys would simply ask the user when they are tripping to indicate the dose that they took and then would be shown a series of images or visual stimuli and users would answer questions about these stimuli, so that we can learn more about how psychedelics influence how people perceive and experience different stimuli. Finally, we include Option 5 because we think a better understanding of wide-scale trends in the topics and thoughts that come to mind during people’s trips can be influential in understanding the brain on psychedelics. This data could also point to future areas for therapeutic development based on what psychedelics bring to mind and what thoughts and themes they suppress in all of our users and in our users with different psychological and neurological disorders.

The collection of wide-scale data as such could have colossal implications on how much policy regarding these drugs can be changed, what psycho-therapy strategies are researched and developed, as well as how much user experiences can be improved by this app. Ultimately with enough data collection from biometric sources and from user input and responses we think that the app could be linked to an implant that could be programmed based on the user’s biofeedback and in-app responses to automatically dispense doses of psychedelics to keep the user happy, creative, and focused.

IV. Method

1. Interviews

Our methodology of collecting data included interviewing experts in the history of drugs, users of psychedelics, and researchers of psychedelics and conducting a survey with 41 users of psychedelics contacted through Reddit. This data was incorporated into the design decisions ranging from narrowing down a target user to which features to prioritize.

1. Keith Wailoo

Keith Wailoo is a professor of history at Princeton University who teaches Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy. Professor Wailoo shared important insight into defining users of psychedelics. First, he encouraged us to segment users by their motivations, rather than their demographics. For example, he cited psychedelics ability to: alter one’s outlook to create something of value to resonate with people like Steve Jobs; make people more creative, which we see exemplified in our Reddit survey; and offer a therapeutic escape for people at the end of life or users who are looking to be more mindful. He also noted that microdosing was a recent phenomenon and thus a fundamentally different category of a drug user, from the personas discussed in the class Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy, when it comes to the time period, motivation, and user. Additionally, Wailoo raised the important consideration that psychedelics, and other drugs, have gained increasing popularity with the end of life treatment, as they are employed to relieve anxiety while also furthering the notion of being one with the world. He raised the famous author Aldous Huxley as one example of the terminally ill who tremendously gains from using psychedelics.

He also noted a shift in today’s generation. First, there’s a familiarity that our generation has with psychedelics, whether through experience or through the grape-vine. This contrasts sharply with the earlier Reef of Madness era where psychedelics and other drugs were seen as causing people to go insane. Additionally, he highlights that by studying historical trends we can better understand what’s going on with our generation and why we currently live in a society that’s willing to experiment and normalize these substances. He cites three drivers of today’s psychedelic culture: end of life care, the emerging death with dignity topic in health care, and the resurgence of medical marijuana, another schedule I substance that is making its way back into normal consumer and medical care.

Finally, he shared additional resources for further research. He suggested we reach out to David Nichols who leads a psychedelic research lab at Purdue and researchers at New York University and Johns Hopkins. He also suggested that we look at the recent increase of articles about LSD in the New York times in the last ten years, identify where the story begins and who reporters think is important to interview, and follow that trail. Finally, he suggested we also look into how Ecstacy is being used for improving end of life conditions, to draw comparables to psychedelic usage at the end of life. His feedback was particularly helpful in discerning the trends that position this to be the right time to pursue a project in the psychedelic space.

Additionally, we reached out to Professor Nichols who gave us additional insight into his papers and further expanded upon the extension between results in rats and mice to humans.

2. Elin Ahlstrand

Elin Ahlstrand is a member of the Princeton Class of 2021, majoring in neuroscience. A self-proclaimed psychonaut, Elin explained the ways our application may be both revolutionary for users and extremely desirable for scientists if we use it for data collection. She recommended adding particular psychophysics tests or experiments to measure different cognitive functions for users to complete while tripping to gather data about how psychedelic use impacts cognition and influences behavior. Currently, we have very little data on how the brain works to influence behavior and cognitive function in people who are in altered states of consciousness. She recommended the possibility of a test that flashes images before users that can potentially only be perceived under particular states of consciousness. What happens when people are tripping? How do they perceive images, symmetries, sound? She recommended an extension in which our app contributes to scientific inquiry by tracking data on trippers’ vitals and biometrics as well. Elin’s contributions also affirmed that our idea is likely to be embraced by the psychedelic community, a huge confidence boost.

3. Awakened Futures Conference

Naomi attended a conference called Awakened Futures on May 2nd and 3rd, 2020. The conference was on Consciousness, Meditation, Psychedelics, and Technology. A large topic of conversation was around “technodelics,” or devices that either assist one going through a trip or without substances induce different states of consciousness in users that are akin to psychedelic usage. The existence of such devices gave us confidence in our present endeavor with PsychU.

4. Betsy Pu

Betsy Pu is a member of the Princeton Class of 2022, is majoring in Computer Science, and a current student in Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy. First, she confirmed that this sort of app “seems in line with people in the valley.” Second, she noted that there tends to be a divide in the type of user who microdoses and the type of user who trips. This divide results from different motivations (e.g. productivity for microdosers versus creativity for those who trip). Her insight encouraged us to further segment the potential users.

5. Wendi Yan

Wendi Yan is a sophomore at Princeton currently working on a documentary, The Psychedelic Club, that examines the emergence of clubs dedicated to psychedelics on college campuses across the US and UK. Bevin ran the idea of PsychU by her and sought out her thoughts and advice. She was very enthusiastic about the idea and said that she couldn’t believe that there was nothing like it on the market yet. She encouraged us to speak to researchers at Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London and thought that they might be willing to partner with us if we proceed with app development. She said that from her experience, researchers in this field were really interested in engaging with younger generations.

B. Reddit Survey

We conducted a survey on Reddit to better understand psychedelic usage and habits. We found 41 users of psychedelics to share their experiences through our questionnaire by posting on the following subreddits:  r/PsychedelicStudies, r/SampleSize, r/Psychonaut, r/Drugs, r/LSD, r/Drugs. Our motivation was to learn about our target users and their pain points during these experiences. All questions, anonymized responses, and a summary of the study are included at the end of this document. This section will highlight the most surprising finds and how we incorporated the findings of this survey into our design decisions.

1. How many times have you used psychedelics?

We found that 10% used psychedelics once, 33.3% used psychedelics less than five times, 23.3% used psychedelics between 5 and 10 times, and 33.3% used psychedelics more than 10 times. This data was important in shaping our app to be catered towards a “regular” user of psychedelics. While our app is capable to guide a first time user, this is not our target persona, based on the survey results.

2. What is your psychedelic of choice?

We found that 53.3% of respondents prefer LSD, 36.7 % prefer psilocybin (magic mushrooms or truffles), and the remaining were split between DMT, Mescaline, and 4-aco-dmt and n,n-dmt. Since the results show that two drugs comprise the overwhelming majority of usage, we will incorporate this into our educational aspect of the app. We find it imperative to not only guide users but to also provide objective information regarding psychedelics to our users. While we cannot control and take no part in distributing psychedelics, we are committed to informing users and want to build a transparent product.

3. Have you used psychedelics as a tool to enhance your self-reflection or mindfulness?

We found that 63.3% of users do use psychedelics to enhance self-reflection and mindfulness. These respondents fall into our primary user base. However, we are especially interested in the responses of the 36.7% who said they do not use psychedelics as a tool to enhance your self-reflection or mindfulness. First, self-reflection or mindfulness may not be the primary tool, but this response does not indicate that this group of users would not want to also use psychedelics as a tool to enhance self-reflection or mindfulness. As we see later in the survey, motivations for psychedelic use is rarely an exclusive or. Rather, we notice that users tend to find psychedelic usage more compelling when multiple motivations converge.

4. How would you describe your social experience during a high-dose psychedelic experience (a "trip")?

This question served to gauge the need for a social element within our app itself. We found that 23.3% of users preferred to be alone and 66.7% preferred to be in a small group or with one person. No users preferred to be in a small group. Yet, 10 % showed no preference, suggesting some room for experimentation and fluctuating preferences. Therefore, our app will primarily function as a solitary experience and include a social element as an add on. One could compare adding a social element to our app to how Tinder launched Tinder Social. While most swipes on Tinder happen in isolation, some uses do choose to swipe with friends.

5. How have you attempted to process your trips in the past?

Not all users want technology to be a part of their trip experience. Therefore, a large part of our app focuses on guiding the post-trip reflection. It is important to understand what substitutions our users employ so we can include relevant features and expand on any pain points caused by current solutions. Responses include journaling, meditation, creating art, reflecting for a whole day, reading, and talking through the experience with friends. A small percentage (6.6%) has not reflected. Our app would either present this final user type with a methodology to effectively reflect or be unhelpful to users to have to interest in reflecting. A follow-up question for this group could be better understanding the motivation behind not reflecting.

6. If you microdose, what are your motivations for doing so?

In response to Professor Wailoo’s suggestion, we asked users about their motivations for using psychedelics, and particularly microdosing. We found the following responses in ascending order of popularity: to create something of value, enhance productivity, therapeutic benefits, happiness, alter one’s outlook, and enhance creativity. In marketing this app, we will need to allude to these core, driving motivations.

7. In theory, would you feel comfortable sharing your biometric data during a trip with researchers?

We were motivated to ask this question since licensing data to researchers is core to our proposed business model. Respondents were split evenly on willingness to share data with researchers. In a future study, we should clarify that data would be anonymized and research would be in support of psychedelics. In an age of heightened scrutiny around biometrics and security, this comes at no surprise.

Might we use the framework of attitudes versus behaviors here? Other iterations of the question could ask the following questions to better understand what framing must be provided or costs must be induced for people to consent to share their data. Would anonymously sharing data with researchers prevent you from using the app? This question notes the difference in opt-in versus opt-out. Would you pay for a premium version of the app to prevent your anonymized data from being shared with researchers? Would you license (for a fee) your anonymized data with researchers? The first question positions money as a cost and the second positions money as a benefit.

Finally, questions of notice and consent are incredibly relevant here. We are curious to see the results of the same question being poses to users of 23 and Me. Clearly, this company has many users who benefit from genetic tests. However, rarely are users aware that their genetic data is being sold to pharmaceutical companies. Would framing and explicitly asking customers to opt-in to sharing data also reflect some pushback to sharing data with researchers, as we see in this question?

C. Design Decisions

In choosing which features to prioritize in our app, we needed to better understand the differences between trips and microdosing. The following questions gave insight into the differences between both and thus informed what features went into version 1 and version 2.

1. Do you spend time preparing mentally for a trip?

For trips, we found that the responses were normally distributed, suggesting that we will get varying levels of engagement of our app. Thus, our app should be able to adjust for the frequency of trips and variations in preparedness before a trip. For microdosing, we found that one-third of respondents have never considered setting goals. Therefore, in a way, our app can create a userbase while also addressing the needs of an existing userbase.

2. Do you use technology while microdosing?

We found that 87.5% used phones during the experience of microdosing and 75% used a computer during the experience of microdosing. Therefore, we selected features that cater more towards microdosing in version 1, since our app is digital. On the other hand, we received more mixed results in response to the question, Do you use your phone during your trips? A quintile said no, 40% said sometimes, 23.3 % said yes, and 16.7% said only during the come up/come down. This suggests that the first feature we should build-out is the guided preparation and reflection. Then, we should build out features that employ technology during the trip. Finally, we should further inquire about the cases when the “sometimes” group elects to use their phone and motivations behind the 20% who do not use their phones.

At the same time, by understanding activities that people partake in while microdosing, we can add features that use the digital app to prepare and reflect on a non-digital activity.

3. What sort of activities do you partake in while microdosing?

We found that subjects engage in a range of activities, such as listening to music, journaling, talking to friends, meditating, talking to a therapist, going on social media, gaming, creating visual art, going on walks, composing music, going for walks/bike rides outside, dancing, and lying in Shavasana.

Some respondents even noted that they engage in normal, everyday activities, which suggests that users do not necessarily need to take psychedelics to be effectively guided through our features that promote mindfulness and therapeutic reflection.

D. Future Research

While we have tested our initial hypothesis, interviewed experts and potential users, and undergone broader market research on Reddit, an opportunity still lies in learning more about users’ nuanced psychedelic usage behaviors. Therefore, we propose the following extensions to collect even more data that can further both the fields of neuroscience and psychology, as well as better inform our app.  

First, we want to test people’s changing preferences regarding psychedelic use and the utility of our app. Originally, we planned to run a mini-experiment in class using the live polling tool PollEverywhere. We drew inspiration from the papers A refined compilation of implementation strategies: results from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project (Powell, 2015) and Exploring Peer Instruction: Should Cohort Clicker Responses Appear During or After Polling? (Pearson, 2015). Our proposed polling methodology was to gage our class’s perception of psychedelic usage before and after our presentation. Alternatively, we considered sending a google form before class and sharing the results after the presentation. However, we were concerned about protecting our classmates’ anonymity, since psychedelics are illegal to currently use, after all. Moreover, the small sample size would not be statistically significant.

        Therefore, we are interested in conducting large-scale user testing of our changing perceptions towards psychedelics after showing our app. Since we are hesitant to “convert” non-psychedelic users to begin consumption of psychedelics in response to our app, this would be one method of testing conversion rates before releasing the app. Additionally, we can test conversion rates by asking future users about their changing preferences, but we thought it wise to incorporate this research into our design decisions before releasing the app. Additionally, we are interested in conducting large-scale user testing of the core features of version 1 and version 2 of our app. Since app development, particularly any integration with machine learning and computer vision, can be an arduous process, we find that taking an iterative approach to incorporating user feedback will best position us to build an app that addresses users’ true needs. We want to avoid guessing what features users truly want and potentially having technical debt over building out features that do not deliver true value to the user.

Second, there is a very compelling branch of psychology research that discusses the dissonance between subjects’ attitudes and behavior. A Study of Consumers' Response to Quick Service Restaurants' Healthy Menu Items gives insight into incorporating dissonance between subjects’ attitudes and behavior into any user feedback collected before launching (Dipietro, 2006). Therefore, we need to keep the potential dissonance between subjects’ attitudes and behavior in mind when analyzing any feedback on the utility of our product.

These findings can better inform the features that we decide to include in future versions of the app. Additionally, these findings can shed light on the extent to which users will engage with the app. Currently, our app is designed for usage during microdosing or tripping. However, we are interested to test if this app’s mindfulness and therapeutic features can be helpful for users even during moments when psychedelics are not present. Apart from expanding the lifetime and usage of this app, this would expand the target user from not just users of psychedelics and help us penetrate the largest market of users looking for mindfulness apps. If our app is indeed helpful to users, then we should be promoting it to all potential users who might derive benefit, not simply psychedelic users.

Researchers too can benefit from the expansion of the app for two main motivating reasons. First, when conducting research about psychedelic use, it is also important to record data about user habits, since psychedelics physically alter the brain. Our current target population of the app would provide researchers with strong latitudinal data. However, in order to collect enough data regarding the longitudinal aspects of a single subject’s psychedelic usage, it is important to collect data of the user while using psychedelics as well as when not using psychedelics. Second, the introduction of a control group adds further rigor to the scientific experiment at hand.

VII. Startup Proposal

After doing research on psychedelic use and how these drugs alter the brain and designing an app to virtual guide people through their psychedelic use, we want to build a startup around this value proposition. PsychU is a Virtual Assistant for Psychedelic Experiences that enables people to enhance creativity + reduce negative emotionality through psychedelics in a safe, guided manner through our app and increases the availability of data for research.

A full startup pitch for PsychU is included at the end of this document. The team plans to pursue this startup and has applied to the Dorm Room Fund’s summer accelerator, Female Founder Track, using this pitch deck. Thus far we have tested the following core business assumptions: developed mock-ups and a business plan, interviewed 41 users and researchers about our value proposition, segmented users into five personas. Our personas are the Tech Bro, Artsy Hipster, Self-Experimenter, Recreational User, and End of Life User. All personas are expanded upon in the pitch deck. This summer we hope to build version 1 (goals, guiding questions, journal + guided reflecting) and validate version 2 (apply NLP for sentiment analysis of journal entries, computer vision analyze artwork, sync health apps and smart devices, and offer guided meditation/yoga/holotropic breathwork).

The following details are not included in the pitch deck but are imperative for building this startup.

1. User

In defining our user, we must target a primary user that has a need, not a want, and has a propensity to pay for our app. Ideally, we will find the target user by analyzing users of similar mindfulness and therapeutic apps and their current methods of coping. Specifically, we can use a tool published by Facebook advertising in which we can feed in emails of users of similar apps and Facebook will share our online advertisements to users who match the profiles of the email addresses we provide.

2. Health + Mental Illness

As discussed in the class, there is tension between developing technology for assisting those with disabilities versus developing technology to enhance “normal” human capacity. Our app will first be marketed towards customers who use psychedelics to address mental health or end of life concerns. Then, we will market to the larger, recreational audience.

3. Market Size

Our share of the market is the 1.31 million users between 18-25 who use psychedelics for mental health. Our serviceable addressable market is the 30 million psychedelic users, including recreational users, in the United States. Finally, our total available market is valued at more than $192 million, for the market of mindfulness apps. Ideally, our users will use our app when using psychedelics and when “sober.” (all sources from this paragraph are linked in the pitch deck)

4. Business Model

We will be charging researchers a licensing fee for use of aggregated and anonymized user data. The app will be freemium for users. Version 1 will be free but certain features in version 2 can be acquired through in-app purchases. We take inspiration from 23 and Me’s business model. However, unlike 23 and Me, we will clearly notify users that their data will be shared with researchers and ask for explicit consent from users. If users want to continue using the app but do not want to share their data with researchers, we will offer this service at a small fee. If users choose to delete the app, they can request us to remove any of their personal data from our database at no cost.

5. Go To Market

We will use online marketing tools and grassroots marketing to go to market. As our survey indicated, most of our target customers are young, liberal, and frequent users of technology. Therefore, we will prefer digital over print advertising. Additionally, we will take advantage of grassroots marketing approaches, such as a referral and ambassador program. We want our app to provide true value to our users, so people are referring their friends to our app.

6. Competitive Landscape

Current competitors include Lumenate: The Psychedelic Meditation App and Wavepath. Unlike current companies in the space, our product is rooted in neuroscience and our team is user obsessed. No competitor addresses a need for both users (virtual guide, insight into experience) and researchers (unexplored metrics and data, previous research is only qualitative and occurs after a trip).

VIII. Limitations

While we believe that PsychU would enable safer psychedelic experiences and help users optimize their experience, we appreciate that the concept and its potential use is not without its flaws. First, there is the potential for the app to cause user harm. Psychedelic experiences are not something to take lightly. While they can be some of the most enriching and enlightening experiences in one’s life, they can also be incredibly traumatizing and in some instances, for people with a predisposition to mental disorders, can result in psychosis (Carhart-Harris et. al., 2016). PsychU could create a false sense of security in some users and could encourage some people to use psychedelics who otherwise should not. Even though we attempt to control for this effect in the app by providing comprehensive surveys upfront to gauge the user’s predisposition and “set and setting,” it is impossible to control who uses the app.

Second, it is also very difficult to predict how a user might respond to psychedelic substances. Though the app would be designed alongside professionals who understand potential risk factors and can help create surveys that predict whether or not someone might have a negative experience, the reality is that it is very difficult to anticipate how a user might respond to using psychedelics. It is a highly personal experience and sometimes can dig up emotions and traumas deep in the psyche that the user might not even be aware of. Therefore, it will be important not to overstate the accuracy of recommendations that the app makes.

Additionally, there are potential legal concerns related to user privacy. Psychedelic substances are classified as Schedule I substances in the United States, and thus are highly illegal. It is important for the app to collect data on users--this is how it will help advise users as to whether or not they are prepared for the experience. However, given that the users would be engaging in illegal activity, it is crucial to keep their information confidential and anonymous. It will be crucial to use best data security and privacy practices to ensure that the data is protected against leaks. That said, this can only prevent so much harm. Regardless of how stringent our data security practices are, if a government agency got a warrant for the data, we would be responsible for handing it over, potentially jeopardizing the anonymity of the users and putting them in danger of retribution. In order to prevent this, it will be important to encourage users to use pseudonyms and sign up with secondary email accounts to protect their anonymity.

IX. Conclusion

The research proposal outlined in Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 raise several possibilities for future technologies. One idea is to create an implant that automatically administers appropriate doses of psychedelics. The implant would contain microdoses of psilocybin and LSD, and portion dosages based on brain chemicals and perceived neurological states. The device recognizes when the user is in need or want of a particular state and administers a microdose based on one’s neurological makeup and psychological state. Such a device would be revolutionary in linking psychedelic usage to its neurological and psychological foundations and employing these to administer the drug with intention.

Given the immense potential for human enhancement through use of psychedelics, we outline a series of policy recommendations around them. We first recommend the legalization of LSD, psilocybin, and other psychedelic substances amongst the general public. Given the wide body of literature demonstrating the lack of harm and huge benefits to users, we contend that there are few downsides to legalization and much potential to enhance the selfhood and life experiences of users. We hypothesize that historic and present fears around the drugs can largely be traced to long-ingrained Christian ideals of morality and anti-drug ideology. These have been reified socially, politically, religiously, and economically since. The vilification of these drugs has been employed and exploited to gain traction for a variety of political endeavors, notably “The War on Drugs.” These politicized fearful demonstrations are not based in actual negative effects of the drugs, but rather irrational and unfounded fears and efforts to exert control over the population. The legalization of psychedelics enables de-stigmatization, which in turn would allow more of the general public to reap the considerable benefits of these psychoactive drugs.

With regulatory approval for psychedelic research, we recommend the wide-scale funding of research endeavors to better understand psychedelics’ impacts and potential for human enhancement. Too little is currently understood about these drugs. What we do know is promising: psychedelics appear to be capable of enhancing the human condition and treating mental illness in considerable ways. Thus, we need many more research undertakings, such as the present trials at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, to affirm this through rigorous research and examine the nuanced impacts of the drugs. Hard data collection will enable optimal use of psychedelics-- and the optimization of human enhancement.

We view psychedelics as full of unprecedented potential for human enhancement, intellectually, emotionally, creatively, spiritually. The drugs enable human beings to enter the deepest parts of their subconscious and unconscious mind and bring these thoughts and feelings to consciousness. We hope that PsychU will facilitate a wider understanding of the extraordinary human potential of these drugs and an expanded user base. We too aim to equip users with healthy, safe best-practices, to enable psychedelic expansion of the creative state, amplified productivity, heightened feeling, cosmic thinking.

The present social and political atmosphere in the United States gives us confidence that such a product fits with the times. Marijuana, previously classified as a Schedule I substance, has been legalized in many states in the United States, and is currently employed recreationally and within medical care. This emphasizes the potential for other Schedule I substances, namely psychedelics, to make their way back into normal consumer and medical care. The healthcare field is currently reevaluating best practices in a patient’s right to die with dignity, emphasizing the patient's agency and needs. Psychedelics are thus prudent given their proven potential to decrease fears around death and improve the quality of life of end-of-life patients. We additionally live in an increasingly hyper-competitive world. Performance-enhancing practices and drugs are of the utmost interest to large portions of the general population; psychedelics are thus well-suited to the present. Lastly and significantly, since the lifting of the moratorium on psychedelic research, cutting-edge research regarding psychedelics has exploded in recent years. We aim to supplement users and research endeavors with PsychU. We hope that PsychU will enable people to experience enriching psychedelic experiences in a safe and guided manner and strengthen research initiatives in psychedelic science.

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Section Responsibilities (with some overlap and shared editing):

Bevin Benson: Technology Precedent, Proposal (Intro, Core Features, Users), Limitations, Appendix A: Figures

Naomi Shifrin: Introduction, History of Psychedelics, Literature Review: Overview of Psychological Research, Conclusion

Ayushi Sinha: Method, Startup Proposal

Kara Steele: Literature Review: Overview of Neurophysiological Research, Proposal (Future Directions), Appendix B: Figures

Appendix A: Figures

Version 1:

Appendix B: Figures

Version 2: