The structure of clinical trials is generally not the most interesting thing in the world.

But for psychedelic science, going through the “gold standard” double-blind placebo-controlled paradigm is all but impossible– and presents arguably one of the largest barriers to psychedelic treatments gaining approval.

After all, how can one even pretend that seeing a bunch of fractals everywhere is even remotely similar to the effects of a niacin flush or being zonked out on diphenhydramine? Is it even possible these days to go through a psychedelic trial without all the media hype priming people to have “one of the top 10 most meaningful experiences in their life,” as Griffiths' study widely lauded?

The field is advancing rapidly, and these questions are quickly catching up to us.

To help figure out whether psychedelics could ever possibly pass the placebo test, Balázs Szigeti, PhD, came on the show to discuss his work examining blinding, placebo effects, and the power of expectancy.

Although some people might not exactly be keen on the results of his work, they have the potential to reveal a lot about how psychedelics work, which in some ways may be even trippier than we imagined.

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