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Ideas & Issues (Innovation)
Microdosing
Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis
by Maj Emre Albayrak
T
he Marine Corps Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnais- >Maj Albayrak has been an Intelligence Officer for twelve years and is also an
sance Enterprise (MCISRE) Expeditionary Ground Reconnaissance Officer. He has recently completed a tour
may gain an advantage over as the Operations Officer for the Intelligence Support Battalion in an Inspector-
Instructor capacity.
competitors in intelligence analysis,
productivity, and efficiency if it utilizes
the innovative cognitive benefits gained
through microdosing with psychedelics, “No problem can be solved from the same level of
which scientists, Silicon Valley execu-
tives, disruptors, and biohackers have consciousness that created it.”
already harnessed.
Step into any sensitive compart-
—Albert Einstein
mented information facility in the
Marine Corps and you are guaranteed are attempting to leverage unique bio- 1973. During the height of the MKUl-
to find any number of stimulants and logical reactions to increase cognitive tra experiments, however, psychedelics
performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs): ability, efficiency, and “flow,” much like continued to gain popularity as research
caffeine and tobacco in many forms, hyper-competitive, information-hungry, drugs. From 1947 to 1966, researchers
lab-manufactured and non-Food and self-motivated scientists, Silicon Valley wrote over 1,000 scientific papers, pub-
Drug Administration-approved pre- executives, and CEOs. lished several dozen books, and dedi-
workout supplements, etc. The pres- cated six international conferences to
ence of these substances makes it clear Enter Psychedelics the study of psychedelics. The parallel
that the Marines working within these Prior to the well-known and docu- recreational popularity of psychedel-
facilities are attempting to extend their mented recreational usage of lysergic ics and the resultant moral panic led
wakefulness while increasing their effi- acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin to Federal laws banning LSD in 1966.
ciency and productivity. The increasing (the alkaloid found in hallucinogenic This ban also halted legitimate scien-
speed and breadth to which we collect mushrooms) in the 1960s, scientists, tific studies, suppressing any further
raw data for processing and exploitation researchers, psychiatrists, psycholo- scientific research.
in the fourth generation of warfare,1 gists, and the U.S. Government tested Currently, psychedelics are experi-
where data flows in terabytes (a thou- psychedelics in over 1,000 different encing a third-wave resurgence—the
sand gigabytes) and petabytes (a million studies. Introduced as medication for first wave was the traditional use by na-
gigabytes), creates enormous analytical psychiatric use and growing in medical tive peoples from civilizations around
and cognitive challenges.2 3 popularity, Time magazine published the world for thousands of years, the
These challenges create a discrepancy multiple positive reports on LSD dur- second wave was the heavy scientific
between technological capability (what ing this time.4 Beginning in 1953, the and recreational usage in the 1960s that
we can collect) and human ability (what Central Intelligence Agency began resulted in their ban, and the third wave
we can process, exploit, and distribute). a program of experiments under the is the current use of LSD and psilocybin
Intelligence professionals in MEF intel- project name MKUltra. The intent of to assist in medical and psychological
ligence centers work on problem sets this program was mind control, tested situations, including recent Food and
that require lateral thinking, logical through experimentations on human Drug Administration–approved stud-
reasoning, persistence, close attention subjects to identify and develop drugs ies by researchers at Johns Hopkins,
to detail, and creativity on a 24/7/365 and procedures that could weaken Yale, NYU, and various other facili-
processing, exploitation, and dissemina- defense mechanisms during interroga- ties who have confirmed the positive
tion cycle. These Marines are asked to tions.5 A large portion of subjects were cognitive effects of psychedelics.7 8
be superhuman and compete in intel- administered LSD without informed Scientists, Silicon Valley executives,
ligence where, like professional athletes, consent, warning, or appropriate control biologists, biohackers, and others who
one percent gains provide significant mechanisms.6 Unable to achieve the face complex problems or operate at
advantages. Therefore, these Marines desired results, MKUltra was halted in high performance levels are also using
Marine Corps Gazette • February 2019 www.mca-marines.org/gazette WE1
Ideas & Issues (Innovation)
microdosing to gain a mental advantage and creativity,13 both of which are criti- experience, one of the most important
with psychedelics.9 cal for problem-solving and analytical things in my life. LSD shows you that
thinking. These findings support the there’s another side to the coin.”15
Microdosing abundant anecdotal evidence such as
A microdose is a sub-perceptual Nobel Prize–winning scientists admit- Status Quo
amount (i.e., it does not cause percep- ting their use of small doses of LSD Currently, Marines across the MC-
tual sensory changes such as visual hal- to boost thought.14 Psychedelics are ISRE regularly use a variety of PEDs
lucinations and is not strong enough credited as a cause for the emergence to accomplish their tasks. The most
to debilitate the subject) consisting of of personal computing from a select well-known PEDs, caffeine, pre-
about a tenth of a medicinal dose of group of government- and corporate- workout supplements, and tobacco,
any given psychedelic, usually between funded laboratories, and even Steve Jobs all have some positive short-term ef-
10 and 20 micrograms (μg) of LSD or claimed, “Taking LSD was a profound fects. However, they do not signifi-
100 milligrams (mg) of psilocybin. In
research, microdoses were reported to
significantly heighten alertness, creativ-
ity, and problem-solving—inducing a
“flow state” that aids in lateral thinking.
Like most hallucinogens, LSD mimics
the effects of serotonin (a mood regu-
lator) and activates 5-HT2A receptors
in the prefrontal cortex. This increases
the activity of the chemical glutamate,
which enables the transmission of sig-
nals between nerve cells and plays a role
in learning and memory.10 Researchers
at the Centre for Neuropsychophar-
macology at Imperial College London
carried out groundbreaking imaging
studies showing changes in cortical
functions of the brain (see Figure 1).
Microdoses cause cortical functions
to be more fluid, leading researchers
to believe that psychedelics may help
certain brain areas work in increas-
ingly flexible and expansive ways.11
The study further states that LSD
decreased blood flow to the “default
mode network” (DMN), an area of
the brain that is activated when the
mind is wandering, not committed to
a task, and thinking about one’s emo-
tional state—what is generally viewed as
the “ego.”12 A person’s problem-solving
ability is typically constrained by his
ability to think beyond his limited set
of experiences housed within the DMN,
and attempts to find solutions are typi-
cally made from past experiences. As
psychedelics decrease DMN activation,
individuals have been shown to expand
their ability to connect seemingly un-
connected pieces of information and
create revolutionary new solutions.
The enhanced availability of cognitive
pathways, in addition to the changes Figure 1. Significant between-condition differences (orange = increases) in Resting State
in cortical functions brought on by mi- Functional Connectivity (RSFC) between the V1 seed region (purple) and the rest of the brain.
crodosing, enhances lateral thinking Un-thresholded maps can be viewed here: neurovault.org/collections/FBVSAVDQ/.
WE2 www.mca-marines.org/gazette Marine Corps Gazette • February 2019cantly elevate cognitive activity, en- Gaining the Advantage tropics,28 29 and our own units, such hance neural pathways, or disrupt the War is not a game, and meeting your as the Naval Special Warfare Devel- brain’s DMN. Additionally, existing enemy on equal footing is a fool’s er- opment Group, seek cognitive advan- stimulants have proven negative effects, rand. The United States plans to spend tages via unorthodox methods such as including jitteriness, energy crashes, $717 billion on defense in fiscal year mind gyms and sensory deprivation elevated heart rate, and, in extreme 2019 to ensure that America has the tanks.30 The cognitive advantage they cases, cancer. Some use PEDs such as most lethal, flexible, and responsive seek is “flow”—or “ekstasis” from the Adderall, Ritalin, and Modafinil, albeit military in the world.27 America dedi- Greek, which Plato describes as “an with less regularity. These PEDs are cates resources to making its military altered state where our normal waking effective tools when utilized for their stronger, faster, and smarter than our consciousness vanishes completely, intended purposes; however, the off- adversaries, and we are searching for replaced by an intense euphoria and label use for drugs such as Adderall16 advantages everywhere. Combat does a powerful connection to a greater and Ritalin17 have shown ambiguous intelligence.”31 This phenomena is improvements in cognition or no im- described as a non-ordinary state of provement at all—undesirable when at- consciousness in which individuals tempting to solve “wicked problems.”18 ... microdosed psyche- tend to have heightened focus, pat- Additionally, both of these drugs are delics enhance cogni- tern recognition, and reaction time. amphetamines and carry a variety of Flow can be observed in a seasoned side effects: rhabdomyolysis, kidney tive function and flex- close-quarters battle team clearing a failure,19 and a high risk of addiction. ibility ... complex structure. Scientists solving Modafinil has shown potential as a complex problems have described flow; cognitive enhancer in certain tasks,20 a 10-year McKinsey study revealed top but the chief use of Modafinil in the executives being 500 times more pro- MCISRE is currently limited to recon- not reward fair play, and World Anti- ductive while in flow.32 Flow state is naissance Marines or snipers beyond Doping Agency doping control officers understood, but those able to achieve the forward line of troops on extended are not taking samples after missions flow on demand cannot easily guide reconnaissance and surveillance mis- to ban Marines from “competition.” others into it. Research suggests it sions where fending off exhaustion is Our enemies are already seeking an takes significant experience (in some necessary for survival. Despite stud- edge over us through PEDs and noo- cases 10,000+ hours of meditation) 33 ies showing Modafinil as a cognitive enhancer in complex assessments, 21 military medical officers do not regu- larly prescribe service members with Modafinil for off-label uses. In contrast, microdosed psychedelics enhance cognitive function and flex- ibility, lateral thinking and creativity, elevate mood, and decrease DMN ac- tivity. These factors allow the brain to operate in a manner free of preconceived notions or boxes, resulting in greater creative problem-solving abilities.22 Psychedelics, however, are not without side effects. The most prevalently cited concerns include purity, dosage con- trol, uncontrolled environments, and their illegality. Unlike amphetamines, psychedelic use does not lead to physi- cal dependence.23 Overdosing from the direct pharmacological action of LSD in humans is not a salient fatality concern.24 LSD and mushrooms dem- onstrate the least amount of harm to users and others amongst drugs25 (see Figure 2), and LSD does not remain in the spinal fluid or spinal cord, as it was once believed.26 Figure 2. Marine Corps Gazette • February 2019 www.mca-marines.org/gazette WE3
Ideas & Issues (Innovation)
to quiet the DMN and enter flow on problem sets, well versed in their area will be relevant in this field as well.
demand.34 of expertise (subject-matter experts), The MCISRE provides a young,
One thing is clear, a flow state pro- and screened for behavioral/psychiatric healthy, and educated population that
vides a distinct advantage, and the abil- issues (PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, is under comprehensive medical cov-
ity to achieve “flow on demand” could previous and current prescription and erage and supervision. The virtue of
provide a significant cognitive advan- recreational drug use). It is obvious this close medical supervision, the ability
tage. Flow states have been entered with will be in direct contravention of the to obtain pure microdoses, daily over-
microdosing, and research supports the Marine Corps substance abuse policy, sight, and the controlled application of
idea that a cognitive advantage can be which is why these Marines will have to dosage makes the MCISRE a perfect
gained. Through well-designed experi- be very carefully screened and selected. incubator for this experiment. If gains in
mentation and the use of psychedelics The volunteers will need drug waiv- this study were statistically significant,
in intelligence analysis, an advantage ers entered into their medical files and they could move to small, dedicated,
may be gained over our adversaries. must be subject to additional weekly microdosing analyst groups working
drug screenings to ensure they are only on wicked problems.
Testing and Integration into Intelli- ingesting substances prescribed in the
gence Analysis study. The group will be separated into Closing
“The MCISR-E is a warfighting en- test and control groups, with the test Though the idea is radical, it must
terprise that supports decision-making group being administered microdoses be understood that this is neither a side-
through the provision of tailored in- in accordance with current microdosing ways attempt to allow Marines to ingest
telligence that is timely, relevant, and guidelines of 10μg of LSD or 100mg of illicit substances nor to be mistaken as
predictive.”35 It does so through its in- psilocybin every three days37 and the a half-baked attempt to recreate previ-
corporation of a 24/7/365 predictive control group being administered no ously failed paranormal experiments
analysis process led by the MEF intel-
ligence centers and tied into the Ma-
rine Corps Intelligence Agency and the
intelligence community. The MCISRE The virtue of close medical supervision, ability to ob-
is additionally tasked with harnessing tain pure microdoses, daily oversight, and controlled
human capital and innovation to meet
future challenges,36 the former being application of dosage, makes the MCISRE a perfect
exactly where microdosing and intel- incubator for this experiment.
ligence analysis will intersect.
The challenge of unsolved or particu-
larly difficult problem sets is attempting
to solve the problems on the current substances. Following microdosing, the such as the Army’s The Men Who Stare
level of cognition either prolongs the groups will be tasked with competing at Goats.39 This is a serious foray and
time to solution or leaves the problem in the popular Asian strategy game Go, discussion about considering the use of
unsolved. These outcomes are subop- which can be utilized to assess cogni- cognitive PEDs to increase productiv-
timal in a 24/7/365 environment that tive expertise and functions such as at- ity, creativity, problem-solving ability,
requires rapid intelligence analysis for tention, working memory, visuospatial and flow. If such an experiment were
crisis response. Microdosing could be processing, and decision making. initiated and found to provide a cog-
tested in a controlled manner with a Go should be utilized as a benchmark nitive edge, the DOD and MCISRE,
select group of volunteers under a special test because presenting test subjects in concert with the data aggregation
access program to see if significant gains with previously answered problem sets tool and other technological advantages
could be made in intelligence analysis (a’ la tactical decision games) will not available, would leverage an untapped
productivity and efficiency—especially be scientifically sound (a subject may resource to create an insurmountable
on particularly difficult problem sets. know the solution or have privileged gap over every other competitor.
With specific guidelines, this hypothesis access to information that could lead to
could be evaluated utilizing a double solving the problem). Current unsolved
blind method, either independently or problem sets will also cause an issue Notes
as a joint venture with the Defense Ad- because the problem may continue to go 1. William S. Lind, COL Keith Nightengale
vanced Research Projects Agency. First unsolved without setting a benchmark (USA), Capt John F. Schmitt, COL Joseph
and foremost, all test subjects must be for how much cognitive improvement W. Sutton (USA), and LtCol Gary I. Wilson
volunteers and provide explicit consent. is made between the test and control (USMCR), “The Changing Face of War: Into
All volunteers should have a high gener- groups. Additionally, Google has uti- the Fourth Generation,” Marine Corps Gazette,
al technical score (110+)and be mature lized Go to test the strength of its ar- (Quantico, VA: 1989).
and experienced analysts (8+ years of tificial intelligence program,38 and it
experience), heavily invested in difficult stands to reason that this evaluation
WE4 www.mca-marines.org/gazette Marine Corps Gazette • February 20192. Sean Fahey, “Big Data and Analytics for 14. Russell Schoch, “Q&A: A Conversation 27. Jerry Petersen, “House Passes $717B Na-
National Security,” Stanford University, (Palo with Kary Mullis,” California Monthly, (Berke- tional Defense Budget for FY 2019,” Executive
Alto, CA: 2012). ley, CA: September 1994). Government, (Online: 25 May 2018), available
at www.executivegov.com.
3. Robert Dixon, “Bringing Big Data to War 15. Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, (New York, NY:
in Mega-Cities,” War on the Rocks, (Online: Simon & Schuster, 2011). 28. German Lopez, “Captagon, ISIS’s Favorite
19 January 2016), available at https://waron- Amphetamine, Explained,” Vox, (Online: 21
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J. Farah, Objective and Subjective Enhancing vox.com.
4. Jack Shafer, “The Time and Life Acid Trip: Effects of Mixed Amphetamine Salts in Healthy
How Henry R. Luce and Clare Boothe Luce People, (Online: 1 January 2013), available at 29. Lukusz Kamienski, “Combat High—A Brief
Helped Turn America on to LSD,” Slate, (Wash- https://repository.upenn.edu. But Sobering History of Drug Use in Wartime,”
ington, DC: 10 June 2010). Military History Now, (Online: 8 May 2018),
17. Silmara Batistela, et al., “Methylphenidate available at https://militaryhistorynow.com.
as a Cognitive Enhancer in Healthy Young
5. Project MKUltra, the CIA’s Program of Re- People,” Dementia & Neurophsychologia, (On-
search in Behavioral Modification: Joint Hearing 30. Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal, Stealing
line: 2016), available at https://www.ncbi.nlm. Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and
before the Select Committee on Intelligence and the nih.gov.
Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way
of the Committee on Human Resources; United We Live and Work, (New York, NY: Dey Street
18. C. West Churchman, “Wicked Problems,” Books, 2017).
States Senate, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session, Management Science, (Online: December 1967),
(Washington, DC: 3 August 1977). available at https://punkrockor.files.wordpress. 31. Ibid.
com; and Ted G. Lewis, Book of Extremes: Why
6. Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain, Acid the 21st Century Isn’t like the 20th Century, (Ba-
Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD; 32. Susie Cranston and Scott Keller, “Increasing
sel, Switerland: Springer International Publish- the ‘Meaning Quotient’ of work,” McKinsey,
The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond, (New York, ing, 2014). Lewis writes,
NY: Grove Press, 1985). (Online: January 2013), available at https://
According to Wikipedia, a wicked problem www.mckinsey.com.
“is a problem that is difficult or impossible to
7. Fransisco A. Moreno, et al., “Safety, Toler- solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and
ability, and Efficacy of Psilocybin in 9 Patients changing requirements that are often difficult
33. Kathleen A. Garrison, et al., “Meditation
with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,” The Leads to Reduced Default Mode Network Activ-
to recognize.”
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, (Memphis, TN: ity Beyond an Active Task,” Cognitive, Affective,
December 2006). & Behavioral Neuroscience, (New York, NY:
19. “Stimulants: Toxic to Kidneys and Liver,”
September 2015).
Narconon, available at https://www.narconon.
8. Neiloufar Family, et al., “Semantic Activa- org.
34. Our Amazing World, “fMRI Brain Imag-
tion in LSD: Evidence from Picture Naming,”
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Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, (2016). 20. R.M. Battleday and A.K. Brem, “Modafinil
itation; Science of the Self,” YouTube Video,
for Cognitive Neuroenhancement in Healthy
9. Robert Glatter, “LSD Microdosing: The New of Gary Weber at the Science and Nonduality
Non-Sleep-Deprived Subjects: A Systematic
Job Enhancer In Silicon Valley And Beyond?, Conference, (Online: 25 June 2015), available
Review,” European Neuropsychopharmacology,
Forbes, (Online: 27 November 2015); available at https://www.youtube.com.
(2015).
at https://www.forbes.com.
21. Ibid. 35. Headquarters Marine Corps, Marine Corps
10. David E. Nichol and Eric L. Barker, “Psy- Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
chedelics,” Pharmacological Reviews, (Bethesda, 22. “The Associations of Naturalistic Classic Enterprise (MCISRE), (Washington, DC: 10
MD: 2016). Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experience, and Cre- July 2014).
ative Problem Solving.”
11. Robin L. Carhart-Harris, et al., “Neural 36. Ibid.
Correlates of the LSD Experience Revealed by 23. Saibal Das, et al., “Lysergic Acid Diethyl-
Multimodal Neuroimaging,” Proceedings of the amide: A Drug of ‘Use’?” Therapeutic Advances 37. James Fadiman, The Psychedelic Explorer’s
National Academy of Sciences of the United States in Psychopharmacology, (2016). Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys,
of America, (Washington, DC: 1 March 2016). (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 2011).
24. “LSD (Acid) Fatalities/Deaths,” available at
12. Ibid. https://erowid.org. 38. Elizabeth Gibney, “Google Reveals Secret
Test of AI Bot to Beat Top Go Players,” Springer
25. David J. Nutt, et al., “Drug Harms in the Nature, (Online: 4 January 2017), available at
13. Noah W. Sweat, et al., “The Associations of UK: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis,” The https://www.nature.com.
Naturalistic Classic Psychedelic Use, Mystical Lancet, (2010).
Experience, and Creative Problem Solving,” 39. Jon Ronson, The Men Who Stare At Goats,
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, (2016). 26. George K. Aghajanian and H.L. Oscar, “Per- (New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004).
sistence of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in the
Plasma of Human Subjects,” Clinical Pharma-
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