Psychedelic Science explained by Berkeley neuroscientist | 101 in 101

Michael Silver wants to know what your brain looks like on psychedelics.

From Timothy Leary to Michael Pollan, countless psychologists, journalists and cultural leaders have documented the profound impact psychedelics can have on the human mind. And long before these substances became popularized in Western society, psychoactive plants were a key component in many Indigenous healing practices.

But underneath these mental states is a physical organ — the brain — composed of a tangled web of neurons and other cells that somehow work together to create these transformative experiences. As Silver explains in this 101 in 101 video, scientists still know very little about what exactly is happening inside the brains of people on psychedelics.

As the director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, Silver is leading a team of researchers who are using brain imaging to uncover the “nuts and bolts” of how psychedelics work in the brain.

Video by Charlotte Khadra; edited by Andrei Valladolid.

Watch the video on UC Berkeley News: https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/05/04/a-neuroscientist-describes-your-brain-on-psychedelics-in-101-seconds/

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