Rael Cahn did his PhD thesis work with the UCSD Department of Neurosciences comparing and contrasting the impact of long term mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation practice and the acute effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin on perception, attention, and brain activity using EEG methods.
After completing residency in Psychiatry at UC Irvine he joined the faculty with the USC Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Cahn is currently Assistant Clinical Professor with the USC Department of Psychiatry doing research at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute. He is a clinician-scientist with extensive personal experience as a meditation practitioner and experience teaching mindfulness meditation practices to clinicians and patients alike. His research expertise is in the neuroscience of meditation and altered states of consciousness.
Dr. Cahn has investigated the brain states associated with a wide range of meditative practices and their impact on attentional performance and measures of well-being. He is currently using EEG and fMRI methods to investigate the neurophysiologic mechanisms underlying states of meditative awareness in beginning as well as long term meditators.
Other current projects include looking at the neural mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation works in the treatment of depression and addiction. In addition to his work investigating the neural bases to mindfulness and the clinical impact of such practices he continues to have an interest in research assessing the clinical application of psychedelic drugs. He is currently coordinating a study assessing the epigenetic changes underlying the treatment of PTSD using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.