3 ms·

need one for brain plasicity. it would be nice to be able to easily learn a foreign language or musical instrument naturally.

KellyCriterion 2mo ago
There is one! Ketamin should have huge impacts on neuro/brain plasticity when used properly (i.e. in therapy)
- immmmmm 2mo ago
  Psychedelics are several orders of magnitude stronger on the plasticity front. In therapy as well.
  - bharatsuthar 2mo ago
    So is ketamine but we haven't explored it more for other brain functions where it can act as a psychoplastogen eg reopening critical periods of visual learning.
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
consensus1 2mo ago
Psilocybin has this effect. Source: I can't remember where I read it, so low confidence.
- bharatsuthar 2mo ago
  Sure, but what kind of protocol are you going to use to actually reap the benefits of these transient neuroplasticity effects, especially for learning something new like math or piano as an adult? Same with ketamine. It's not like you can take it a couple of times and open some magic window where everything suddenly becomes easier to learn. From my personal experience and surface-level understanding of the current research, psychedelics(including ketamine) seem to temporarily relax hardened beliefs/priors and rigid neural pathways, which can help you see things from a fresh perspective. But learning something substantial like math or a new language after you've passed the most plastic stages of development is still going to take much longer than what these drugs can realistically help with. They might make you see something differently or even get you extremely interested in it, but sustaining that interest and consolidating the knowledge or skill is still slow compared with childhood/adolescence. Of course, it depends a lot on what you're learning. For example, crystallized intelligence and sufficient motivation can make some things much easier to learn as an adult, but many useful things are also just boring to learn when you no longer have a childlike plastic brain or an environment built around constant learning. Edit: Theoretically, you could accelerate learning by taking psychedelics/ketamine at a set frequency but it's a huge gamble because of their risk profile. eg. HPPD/trauma risk with classic psychedelics and bladder/neurotoxicity risk with ketamine if you get addicted or take it too frequently.
  - consensus1 2mo ago
    I don't know. I was just suggesting something that may have an effect. BTW I would be very hesitant to take anything that "opens some magic window where everything suddenly becomes easier to learn" if it existed. Increasing neuroplasticity to that degree is unlikely to be without significant side effects.
bothers 2mo ago
Easily? Have you ever actually learned a second language or an instrument as a child?
- fragmede 2mo ago
  Vs as an adult. Yes it's hard as a kid, but as an adult it's even harder.

KellyCriterion 2mo ago

There is one! Ketamin should have huge impacts on neuro/brain plasticity when used properly (i.e. in therapy)

immmmmm 2mo ago
Psychedelics are several orders of magnitude stronger on the plasticity front. In therapy as well.
- bharatsuthar 2mo ago
  So is ketamine but we haven't explored it more for other brain functions where it can act as a psychoplastogen eg reopening critical periods of visual learning.
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

consensus1 2mo ago

Psilocybin has this effect. Source: I can't remember where I read it, so low confidence.

bharatsuthar 2mo ago
Sure, but what kind of protocol are you going to use to actually reap the benefits of these transient neuroplasticity effects, especially for learning something new like math or piano as an adult? Same with ketamine. It's not like you can take it a couple of times and open some magic window where everything suddenly becomes easier to learn. From my personal experience and surface-level understanding of the current research, psychedelics(including ketamine) seem to temporarily relax hardened beliefs/priors and rigid neural pathways, which can help you see things from a fresh perspective. But learning something substantial like math or a new language after you've passed the most plastic stages of development is still going to take much longer than what these drugs can realistically help with. They might make you see something differently or even get you extremely interested in it, but sustaining that interest and consolidating the knowledge or skill is still slow compared with childhood/adolescence. Of course, it depends a lot on what you're learning. For example, crystallized intelligence and sufficient motivation can make some things much easier to learn as an adult, but many useful things are also just boring to learn when you no longer have a childlike plastic brain or an environment built around constant learning. Edit: Theoretically, you could accelerate learning by taking psychedelics/ketamine at a set frequency but it's a huge gamble because of their risk profile. eg. HPPD/trauma risk with classic psychedelics and bladder/neurotoxicity risk with ketamine if you get addicted or take it too frequently.
- consensus1 2mo ago
  I don't know. I was just suggesting something that may have an effect. BTW I would be very hesitant to take anything that "opens some magic window where everything suddenly becomes easier to learn" if it existed. Increasing neuroplasticity to that degree is unlikely to be without significant side effects.

bothers 2mo ago

Easily? Have you ever actually learned a second language or an instrument as a child?

fragmede 2mo ago
Vs as an adult. Yes it's hard as a kid, but as an adult it's even harder.