McNair Scholar 2022 Dola Greene
Dola Greene is a junior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, majoring in Human Physiology and minoring in Leadership. Her research interests revolve around providing science for holistic medical treatments.
My dream is to transform the way medicine is practiced. I want everyone to see the therapeutic potential to practicing medicine with holistic methods.
Research project
Effect of Psilocybin on Personality Structure
Abstract: Psilocybin is the primary psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms” and belongs to a class of drugs known as psychedelics. Psychedelics have been shown to evoke profound psychoactive effects that impact information processing in the brain. Previous work has also demonstrated that psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences can change personality structures long thought to be rigid in individuals. After both a psilocybin and placebo experience, eligible participants were evaluated using the 5-dimensional altered states of consciousness questionnaire and the revised mystical experience questionnaire to capture the subjective drug experience. This study aims to test which domains of the subjective experience on psilocybin predict changes in personality structure measured by the “big 5” personality inventory. This study is part of a larger, ongoing clinical trial to test how psilocybin produces functional and structural neuroplasticity in the human brain (NCT04424225). Data from n=4 participants will be presented demonstrating their patterns of change.
Faculty mentor
Jessica Nielson is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and the Institute for Health Informatics, at the University of Minnesota. She received her Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology from The University of California, Irvine. As a neurobiologist and data scientist, Dr. Nielson works to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of mental health disorders that follow trauma, including PTSD, depression, and addiction. She is interested in researching and developing novel therapies to treat the root causes of trauma. She has a plethora of publications within this same field and has been the recipient of many awards.