This week I will discuss the impacts of technology innovations and implications for data and privacy related to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. At this time, I am unaware of any technology innovations that directly linked, but many existing technologies are used and support the topic. A few that come to mind are electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and laboratory serum analysis. These technologies are no longer considered innovative, but they are still relevant. These tools have allowed researchers to provide facts and evidence on how hallucinogens work in the brain, supporting their therapeutic use. A 2019 study showed an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from a singled-dose of ayahuasca, supported via serum analysis (Almeida et al., 2019). Increases in glutamate release from the prefrontal cortex after ketamine administration were supported by the use of carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C MRS) in a 2018 study (Abdallah et al., 2018). Administration of psilocybin at three different intervals demonstrated increased sensory, brain-wide connectivity, and was supported by MRI’s at each interval (Preller et al., 2020). Although benefits can be measured using other tools, they are not as concrete as the biological changes that can be observed using some of the technologies discussed previously.
Other technologies that are relevant and have led us to this conversation are information dissemination tools. Without the internet and vast access to databases of research knowledge available worldwide, research and advancement in knowledge would be stymied. The dissemination of new information to the public can also help to change opinions and perceptions, reducing resistance to the therapeutic use of hallucinogens. Knowles (2018) states that blockchain and cryptocurrency have and could be used more in the availability of knowledge and funding of psychedelic research. I think the most significant concerns for data and privacy would be employers or others gaining access to knowledge about an individual’s treatment and the judgment or discrimination that might follow. Judgment is a significant barrier. Branson-Potts (2019) discusses how using terms like “magic mushrooms,” “hallucinogens,” and “psychedelic” all carry a stigma implying recreational or irresponsible use and instead advocates for using the term entheogen. Entheogens are substances ingested to produce nonordinary states of consciousness for religious or spiritual purposes and more accurately reflects the benefits (Branson-Potts, 2019). I would agree with that statement; specific terms often carry weight and can elicit various emotional responses. I am not advocating for the recreational or indiscriminate use of psychedelics, entheogens, or whatever term might be used; instead, I am advocating for their use in attempting to heal the suffering that many people experience.
Older technologies are supporting and providing evidence for new innovative research. As we refine and improve old technologies and our ability to measure the effects of interventions on the brain increase, research and therapeutic use of entheogens may also increase. In addition to improving old technologies, we must update our language, perceptions, and knowledge of entheogens.
References
Abdallah, C. G., De Feyter, H. M., Averill, L. A., Jiang, L., Averill, C. L., Chowdhury, G. M., … Mason, G. F. (2018). The effects of ketamine on prefrontal glutamate neurotransmission in healthy and depressed subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(10), 2154-2160. doi:10.1038/s41386-018-0136-3
Almeida, R. N., Galvão, A. C., Da Silva, F. S., Silva, E. A., Palhano-Fontes, F., Maia-de-Oliveira, J. P., … Galvão-Coelho, N. L. (2019). Modulation of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor by a single dose of Ayahuasca: Observation from a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01234
Branson-Potts, H. (2019). A heady effort to lift psychedelics’ stigma; even supporters say they’re surprised by success of measures to decriminalize magic mushrooms. Los Angeles Times Retrieved from http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/docview/2244498173?accountid=4485
Knowles, A. (2019). Blockchain Will Power The Future Of Psychedelic Psychotherapy. Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 30(1), 18–27.
Preller, K. H., Duerler, P., Burt, J. B., Ji, J. L., Adkinson, B., Stämpfli, P., … Vollenweider, F. X. (2020). Psilocybin induces time-dependent changes in global functional connectivity. Biological Psychiatry. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.12.027
Underutilization of Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders 
This is a very interesting subject and I really enjoyed reading your post. One statement you make in your post really stuck out to me and I think a very important point to take from this. You said that the “older technologies are supporting and providing evidence for new innovative research”. This statement really got me to thinking and truly resonated with me. These older technologies and medications that fell off the “nice list” back in the 1970s and 1980s are actually very good older innovations that are being reinvigorated. This time they will be properly introduced with the proper research and backing of the proper agencies. I am very curious to see what happens with this over the next several years and I am very in interested in using them in my future professional practice whatever that may be. I also agree with the name change due to the negative connotation that psychedelics have. It is hard to change human perception of these types of things, but a name change seems to work with other subjects.
You also mention that these older technologies are no longer considered innovative but when used in new and creative ways are becoming innovative again. How does the psychedelic community change the negative perception of these drugs and their potential illegal usage? Are these drugs covered by healthcare insurance and are they available to everyone?
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It appears that entheogen have been an example of historical innovative technology that was implemented. The innovation is the idea to use new approached of “disciplinary and ideological traditions: science and religion; “Western” and “Eastern” approaches to healing; and Indigenous and non-Indigenous approaches to psychological care”. The use of entheogens was an innovative technology in the United States historically. For example, there was “early psychedelic theories of the 1950s with the more sophisticated pharmacological research emerging in the 1970s” (Dyck, 2019). In the 1990s, the innovative technology included “imaging technology to help understand and legitimize the therapeutic powers of spiritual meditation by tracking its effects on neural networks, and comparing them with the same changes observed under the effects of MDMA or psilocybin” as well as measuring “interrogating changes in both dopamine and serotonin levels” (Dyck, 2019).
Dyck, E. (2019). Psychedelics and Dying Care: A Historical Look at the Relationship between Psychedelics and Palliative Care. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: 50th Anniversary: Psychedelic Research Today, 51(2), 102-107.
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