HoldsUp

Roland Griffiths

Johns Hopkins

Roland R. Griffiths was a clinical pharmacologist at Johns Hopkins who conducted research on mood-altering compounds and established the institution's psilocybin research program. His published work focuses heavily on the therapeutic applications and clinical trials of psilocybin for conditions such as major depressive disorder and cancer-related psychiatric symptoms. Additionally, his research investigates the effects of psychedelics on episodic memory, mystical and challenging experiences, and changes in religious and spiritual beliefs.

31 claims checked on air: 25 supported 6 unverified

What they said on air - unverified

11 citing their own research

0:27:28unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

Activity in the default mode network is elevated in individuals with depression.

"And so activity in the default mode network is actually increased in depression, and here, a couple of the hubs are prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate." (said at 0:27:28)

No published record matching the claim that default mode network activity is elevated in individuals with depression was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:39:06unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

Standard personality theory posits that core personality traits become fixed from the mid-20s onwards and openness generally decreases across the lifespan.

"personality theorists would tell you that doesn't happen. Those personality characteristics are locked in kind of from mid-20s. And if anything, openness decreases then across the lifetime." (said at 0:39:06)

No published record matching the claim that standard personality theory posits core personality traits become fixed from the mid-20s onwards and openness generally decreases across the lifespan was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:49:12unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

Johns Hopkins psilocybin research protocols exclude participants with a first- or second-degree relative who has a history of psychotic disorders or bipolar disorder.

"And so people are screened out if they have any even second degree relative with history of psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder." (said at 0:49:12)

No published record matching the claim that Johns Hopkins psilocybin research protocols exclude participants with a second-degree relative with a history of psychotic or bipolar disorders was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:51:01unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

By the time of the recording, the Johns Hopkins psilocybin research program had administered psilocybin to over 260 participants across more than 570 individual sessions.

"and at this point, we have treated over 260 people with psilocybin, we have experience of over 570 sessions with psilocybin." (said at 0:51:01)

No published record matching the specific cumulative tally of over 260 participants and more than 570 psilocybin sessions conducted at Johns Hopkins was located; this does not prove the claim false.

0:51:33unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

Clinicians working closely with volunteers are unable to reliably predict which individuals will have difficult or challenging psilocybin experiences.

"if we ask the clinicians that are closest to the volunteers to rate the probability of difficult experiences, their ability to predict that is almost none at all." (said at 0:51:33)

No published record matching the specific claim that clinicians closely supporting volunteers have near-zero predictive ability regarding which individuals will have difficult or challenging psilocybin experiences was located; this does not prove the claim false. While research has characterized challenging psilocybin experiences (such as via the Challenging Experience Questionnaire) and examined various baseline psychological predictors of acute drug effects, specific published trial data evaluating the predictive accuracy of clinicians' prior probability ratings were not identified.

1:52:34unverifiedvery lowRoland Griffiths, Ph.D. on Psilocybin, Psychedelic Therapie

There are nearly 200 known species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms worldwide.

"There's evidence of probably almost 200 species of psilocybin mushrooms and those are used... have been used around the world." (said at 1:52:34)

No published record matching the claim that there are nearly 200 known species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms worldwide was located; this does not prove the claim false.

Fact-checked episodes

Publications