Psychedelics & Neurostimulation for Brain Rewiring | Dr. Nolan Williams

**Andrew D. Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, my guest is Dr. Nolan Williams. Dr. Williams is a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. His laboratory and clinic focus on depression and other mood disorders. They focus specifically on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is a brain stimulation technique that can either activate or quiet specific brain circuits as well as circuits within the body in order to treat depression and other mood disorders. Other laboratories and clinics use TMS. What sets apart the work of Nolan Williams and colleagues is that they combine TMS with other treatments. And some of those treatments are among the more cutting edge that you've probably heard about these days, including Ibogaine, psilocybin, MDMA, cannabis, DMT, and other drugs that at this point in time are experimental in terms of clinical trials, but that at least the preliminary data show hold great promise for the treatment of depression and other mood disorders. In the course of my discussion with Dr. Williams, we covered things such as the history of each of these drugs, how they came to be and their current status in terms of their clinical use and legality. We also talk about their safety profiles, both in children and in adults. And we talk about what the future of psychedelic research and clinical use really looks like. For instance, we discuss how a number of laboratories and clinics are modifying psychedelics to remove some of their hallucinogenic properties while maintaining some of their antidepressant or anti-trauma properties. You'll also learn about some fascinating research in Dr. Williams' laboratory focused on ketamine, which is a drug that is increasingly being used to treat depression. And contrary to common belief, the effects of ketamine in terms of relieving depression may not actually arise from its dissociative effects. One thing that you'll find extraordinary about Dr. Williams is that not only does he have vast knowledge of the various treatments for depression, but that he and his laboratory are really combining these treatments in the most potent way. That is combining psychedelic treatments with brain machine interface or combining brain machine interface with particular learning protocols, that is neuroplasticity protocols, which can directly change the brain in specific ways. So today you're going to learn a tremendous amount about the neural circuitry underlying depression as well as positive moods. You'll also learn about all the various drugs that I described and you're really going to learn about the current status and future of the treatment of mood disorders. Today you'll also learn about a number of ongoing studies in Dr. Williams' laboratory. I should mention that they are recruiting subjects for these studies. If you go to BSL, which stands for Brain Stimulation Laboratory, so that's bsl.stanford.edu, you have the opportunity to apply for one of these clinical trials for the treatment of depression and other mood disorders. I confess that the conversation with Dr. Williams was, for me, one of the more stimulating and informative conversations I've ever had about psychedelics, which is simply to say that his breadth and depth of knowledge on that topic is incredible. And his breadth and depth of knowledge in terms of the underlying brain science and how it can all be combined with clinical applications is also extraordinary. I'm sure that by the end of today's episode, you're going to come away with a tremendous amount of knowledge about the clinical and non-clinical uses of those substances. And you're going to understand a lot more about how the healthy and diseased brain work. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Element. Element is an electrolyte drink with everything you need and nothing you don't. That means plenty of salt, magnesium and potassium, the so-called electrolytes, and no sugar. Now, salt, magnesium and potassium are critical to the function of all the cells in your body, in particular to the function of your nerve cells, also called neurons. 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