Greetings and thanks for tuning into this frequency,
I’m a neuroscientist PhD who has studied a variety of systems and topics including pigeons, astronauts, and LSD-administered rats. Most of my doctoral training took place in the Daoyun Ji lab at Baylor College of Medicine investigating the effects of hallucinogenic LSD during navigation and sleep on neural circuits, specifically memory and sensory areas, to see how encoding of the external world may be altered in a state known to alter one’s perceptual experience.
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I have an interdisciplinary background in educational training and experiences that have supported me to succeed as a liaison among various audiences and disciplines. With knowledge in fields spanning neuroscience, physiology, nutrition, human factors, microbiology, data analytics, aerospace, programming, environmental sciences and more- I find myself thriving when communicating and problem solving in collaboration among teammates of different backgrounds.
I enjoy bringing projects to fruition while managing various components and considering every detail in the process. I excel at strategy, data and protocol evaluation, and I ensure that my team functions optimally and effectively, maximizing productivity, mood, and communication. I incorporate my extensive experience teaching and in science communication to make information accessible, integrative, and exciting.
Finally, I thrive in community building. I believe that this is foundational for success and for optimal communication and creativity within an organization. I set out to provide a safe and encouraging context for community as well as to plan opportunities for team building and collaboration demonstrated through both digital platforms, in-person workshops and retreats, and more.
My psychedelic-related projects included neural recordings of single units and populations within CA1 of hippocampus, visual cortex (V1), and the anterior cingulate cortex with objectives for better understanding of sleep architecture and memory consolidation, spatial cognition and memory encoding, altered percepts and hallucinations, disorganized states induced by psychedelic LSD and 5HT-2A receptor involvement, social learning, and fear extinction.
Bio:
Carli Domenico, Ph.D is a neuroscientist, life-long learner, and science ambassador. Carli received her doctorate in neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine with her thesis and postdoctoral work focusing on understanding the effects of hallucinogenic LSD on visual and memory areas of the brain using in vivo electrophysiology in a rodent model, published in Cell Reports (Domenico et al., 2021). She has studied the brain in systems ranging from homing pigeons to NASA astronauts since her time obtaining her bachelor of science summa cum laude at Texas A&M University where her capstone work investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin on a model of chronic pain.
She has also worked as an analog astronaut at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 7 Mission 1, which involves a 45 day simulated mission to Mars. This research program is designed to better understand various factors like isolation, stress, confinement, and more and their effects on crew dynamics, cognition, physiology, and performance.
In her time driven to be an ambassador of science, she has run a radio station program making microbiology research accessible to the public and has taught multiple courses and programs in STEM formally in university and in service to middle and highschool students. She also worked for NASA Johnson Space Center investigating astronaut cognition and sleep for long duration spaceflight. She considers psychedelics to be the final frontier echoing humankind's endeavors in space. Carli is on the board of directors at the Intercollegiate Psychedelics network, currently serving as the Director of IPN labs. In confluence with her work as a scientist and organizer, Carli is a multipassionate Earth enthusiast, cook, teacher, yogi, dog guardian, expressionist, and experimentalist.
LSD degrades hippocampal spatial representations and suppresses hippocampal-visual cortical interactions
C. Domenico, D. Haggerty, X. Mou, D. Ji
Check out my recent first author publication!
Abstract: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) produces hallucinations, which are perceptions uncoupled from the external environment. How LSD alters neuronal activities in vivo that underlie abnormal perceptions is unknown. Here, we show that when rats run along a familiar track, hippocampal place cells under LSD reduce their firing rates, their directionality, and their interaction with visual cortical neurons. However, both hippocampal and visual cortical neurons temporarily increase firing rates during head-twitching, a behavioral signature of a hallucination-like state in rodents. When rats are immobile on the track, LSD enhances cortical firing synchrony in a state similar to the wakefulness-to-sleep transition, during which the hippocampal-cortical interaction remains dampened while hippocampal awake reactivation is maintained. Our results suggest that LSD suppresses hippocampal-cortical interactions during active behavior and during immobility, leading to internal hippocampal representations that are degraded and isolated from external sensory input. These effects may contribute to LSD-produced abnormal perceptions.
Listen to a podcast interview with Psychedelic Grad
We discuss some findings on my LSD project and dig deeper into my experiences and advice on how to get involved in both research and the psychedelic space.
