
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


How do you know if a mouse is on a psychedelic? It might just shake its head. This behavior, known as the head-twitch response, signals whether a molecule is a psychedelic-like hallucinogen. Head twitch is one tool used by pharmaceutical companies racing to develop new mental health drugs. But does a mouse experience an altered state like a human? Do animals have mystical experiences? And what can we really learn about the brain, or even human consciousness, from these unwitting rodent psychonauts?
For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.
By PRX4.5
148148 ratings
How do you know if a mouse is on a psychedelic? It might just shake its head. This behavior, known as the head-twitch response, signals whether a molecule is a psychedelic-like hallucinogen. Head twitch is one tool used by pharmaceutical companies racing to develop new mental health drugs. But does a mouse experience an altered state like a human? Do animals have mystical experiences? And what can we really learn about the brain, or even human consciousness, from these unwitting rodent psychonauts?
For a transcript of this episode, please visit this link.

91,297 Listeners

21,954 Listeners

43,837 Listeners

38,430 Listeners

43,687 Listeners

27,011 Listeners

7,718 Listeners

12,130 Listeners

12,730 Listeners

2,528 Listeners

14,969 Listeners

1,046 Listeners

564 Listeners

8,854 Listeners

187 Listeners