Ryan Field

@WoodingtonBen @samalanascience See you there!

If you're in town for JPM, come running with us in GGP tomorrow @samalanascience @RyanMField

This is how AI and brains come together. @KernelCo is showing real-time NeuroAI capabilities powered by @nvidia at @NeurIPSConf. Come check out Kernel Flow to see how NVIDIA Jetson Thor enables image reconstruction, data visualization, and activity classification from streaming Flow data all optimized by NVIDIA Holoscan. Find us at the Foundation Models for the Brain and Body Workshop on Saturday, December 6th (demo session I at 10:15am). Workshop agenda: #home" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">brainbodyfm-workshop.github.io/#home List of demos: brainbodyfm-workshop.github.io/call-for-demos Following the NeurIPS conference, we will be posting example data and reference code on the NVIDIA Holohub repository: github.com/nvidia-holosca… so anyone can quickly get started with new AI applications on top of this combined platform. #NeurIPS2025 #NeurIPSanDiego #NeuroAI

@KernelCo @nvidia @NeurIPSConf If you're in SD for #NeurIPS2025 and interested in #NeuroAI, come see what we've built!

@bryan_johnson @bryan_johnson it was wonderful to spend time with you through your journey. I admire the personal risks you take in making experiments like these public. Seeing Flow work so smoothly in this setting was incredible!

good morning everyone. doing the 5.24 grams of mushrooms yesterday was one of the best days of my life. it was healing, energizing and full of love. the coolest thing was doing this together, from the livestream crew and my team to so many of you, we had a deeply impactful shared experience. my phone has been blowing up. many tell me they called their parents, children and friends to express love and gratitude. that they have a renewed energy for health and life. life feels so fresh. i sincerely wish all the best for each of you. life is very hard and everyone is trying their best. we also make life so much harder on ourselves and each her than is necessary. i have hope that a new era of human existence is just around the corner and we might just be able to wrestle our most destructive instincts and amplify the splendor. i deeply appreciate my co-founder @_katetolo, she just makes everything better and more radiant. @RyanMField i’m very proud that we built the brain interface Kernel Flow. it was incredibly hard which makes the joy of using it to quantify my brain in this experiment a special kind of joy. Dr. Seger thanks for keeping me on task to get the biomarkers done lol thanks to my team for working so hard. thank you @ashleevance @naval @friedberg @Benioff @gjurvetson @HamiltonMorris for being good friends and holding space as I went inwards. @Grimezsz your set was magical. surreal. perfect. i really felt like i could see you and your artistic beauty. @AutismCapital you’re great. i don’t know who you are but you were first on the internet to start playing with me and i deeply appreciate and enjoy your presence. and thanks to my dad, son @talmagejohnson_ and @_katetolo for being by my side. that family time was the very best life has to offer. all my best to all of you 💙

@theSciNft @bryan_johnson This was done with @KernelCo 's TD-fNIRS system, a portable and easy-to-use way of capturing fMRI-like recordings from the brain. Fundamentally different tech than EEG! Source reconstruction approach is outlined here: direct.mit.edu/imag/article/d…

Was this done with EEG, right? How was the source reconstruction made? I am also curious about which bands showed the changes in connectivity. Finally, when you say 'connectivity,' you mean phase coherence between reconstructed regions, right? Or is this mean power change? Thanks!

First mushroom trip data is out: my brain activity. Dose: 5 g dried Psilocybe cubensis (B+ strain) Containing 24.9 mg psilocybin Psilocybin longevity experiment. What we see in the brain: + brain activity data mirror my subjective experience + strong decrease in my brain’s control center (prefrontal + premotor cortex) + strong increase in sensory, auditory and speech integration + higher entropic brain patterns: open, flexible, less predictable, exploratory + brain network patterns resembling a youthful state vs aged and rigid Matching what I reported experiencing: + “felt like my consciousness was dialed up to 10/10.” + “I felt hyper aware and hyper alive.” + “I experienced sense of touch with awe.” + “my mind was insatiably curious and wanted to deploy its sensors into the world and discover all things.” + “My brain wanted to stare, study and marvel.” + “The flavor exploded in my mouth.” + “...restored my perception to youthful levels, returning them to factory settings and dissolving my aged numbness.” Why this could matter for longevity: + In people aged 65-85, higher happiness was linked to a 22% reduced risk of all-cause mortality over 15 years. + A meta-analysis showed that optimism correlated with a 35% decrease in heart attacks and a 16% decrease in all-cause mortality. + Having a strong purpose in life is associated with a 17% reduction in both heart attacks and all-cause mortality. + In psychedelic medicine, treating depression with ketamine has been shown to reverse biological age by up to 3 years. Together, these findings suggest a plausible mechanism by which psychedelics, including psilocybin, can prolong both health and lifespan by improving mental well-being and rewiring the brain to a more positive, creative, and curious state. My team and I hypothesized that neuroplasticity, the loosening of rigid inhibitory patterns that makes the brain more flexible, creative, and relaxed, and even the subjective psychedelic state itself may be as meaningful for longevity as methylation shifts, senescence reversal, or telomere biology. What’s happening mechanistically Earlier work shows that psilocin (the active metabolite of psilocybin) acts primarily as an agonist at 5-HT₂A serotonin receptors in the cortex. These receptors are especially dense in high-level association and sensory regions, as mapped in a high-resolution PET/MRI atlas of the human serotonin system. When these receptors are activated, brain imaging studies show an induced state of desynchronization, entropy, and neuroplasticity.  This process erodes the rigid brain hierarchy and default mode networks in favor of a brain-wide spontaneous, creative, curious, and child-like state. Kernel Flow data shows the same pattern: The recorded timepoints included: + baseline: directly before session start (not shown) + timepoint 1: 4 hrs after dose (acute phase effects). + timepoint 2: end of the day, before bedtime. + timepoint 3: the following morning. I continue to measure my brain daily. Image notes + The three maps show changes vs. baseline (not absolute activity) + Red = increased connectivity, blue = decreased connectivity vs. my baseline. + The left reference map shows the 5-HT₂A receptor distribution from PET, the main psilocybin target. Time Point 1 - 3 hrs post dose + Reduced connectivity in the prefrontal and premotor cortex, correlating with acute brain desynchronization. + Increased connectivity and hyperintegration between the primary motor and sensory cortex regions. + Enhanced connectivity in the auditory and speech areas of the cortex. + Inhibited connectivity in the medial prefrontal and posterior zones, areas associated with the Default Mode Network (DMN). Subjective experience: + Enhanced sensory vividness and bodily presence: The brain's top-down hierarchy, originating in the pre-frontal cortex, was attenuated. This reduced predictive filtering, leading to a flood of bottom-up sensory information and heightened bodily perception (e.g., a fascination with water and light dynamics in a jar, a restored, primal joy of touch and sensation). + Peak neuroplasticity and cortical entropy: A peak in cortical entropy and neuroplasticity contributed to a feeling of hyperawareness (e.g., heightened sensory perception, feeling "at one with existence," hyper-aware and hyper-alive). + Deeper appreciation of music and uninhibited movement and expression: Sharpened auditory senses and reduced top-down inhibition allowed music to be enjoyed on a profound level. Concomitant functional connectivity in speech-motor and auditory-motor integration areas facilitated uninhibited expression through both speech and movement (a restored, uninhibited, child-like joy of music). + Note: Full ego dissolution was not experienced, which may necessitate a higher dose to achieve more advanced desynchronization of the prefrontal and parietal cortices. Time point 2 - 5 hrs post dose, end of trip + Intensified sensory and motor hyperconnectivity. + Continued increased connectivity in auditory and speech centers, with a relative restoration of connectivity to the speech understanding area. + Partial re-emergence of the prefrontal parietal coupling, while prefrontal context remains partially inhibited. + Partial re-emergence of connectivity in areas related to the default mode network. Subjective Experience + High-order brain networks begin to restabilize, alongside persisting sensory, motor, auditory, and speech hyperconnectivity, suggesting neuroplasticity in action. + The narrative shifts from pure sensation and experience to meaning generation, accompanied by deep philosophical reflection (e.g., reconsidering the meaning of life and one's relationship with mortality in the time of AI, and pondering the future of human evolution). Time point 3 - next morning (afterglow) + Persistence: Patterns from the acute phase continue, including general prefrontal cortex inhibition, ongoing neuronal plasticity, and heightened senses. + Intensified connectivity: Increased connectivity is noted in the speech generation area and the somatic sensory association area. + DMN inhibition: The default mode network remains inhibited. Subjective Experience: + "Afterglow" effect: Characterized by continued sharpened senses, calm clarity, emotional openness, and low inhibitions. For instance, I felt more comfortable expressing uninhibited, self-deprecating humor (i.e. my post making fun of myself about the insane lengths I go for my Don’t Die experiment) + Integration of experience learnings: The heightened activity in the somatic sensory association area aligns with the process of integrating and "making sense" of the raw sensory experience of both the self and the external world. + Enhanced creativity: The intensified connectivity in the speech generation area contributed to the uninhibited bout of creative writing I undertook to report my experience.

@SeraAureliaX @bryan_johnson These brain images were captured using @KernelCo's TD-fNIRS Flow system. It's a portable and easy to use way to measure the brain. The other images were provided for reference.

@bryan_johnson This is confusing. Those figures are published work of someone else. You are just anecdotally letting us know how you felt, correct. You don’t have controls to know what you saw or what it means I assume.

@bryan_johnson Good luck, @bryan_johnson! Can’t wait to see where this one goes!

Will start around 10:15am. Last night I was asleep by 9. Woke up 5 am. Feel fantastic. 10k lux in eyes. Some protein, extra virgin olive oil, and 60 super molecules. Worked out. Finishing pre mushroom brain measurement with Kernel Flow.

@bryan_johnson Excited to find out what you see with your Kernel Flow! Good luck!

I'm going to test psilocybin as a longevity therapy. Here's my protocol. In recent studies, psilocybin improved survival in aged mice and increased cellular lifespan in human fibroblasts. My protocol: + 5 grams dried mushrooms monthly, for 3 months. + This is equivalent to 25-50 mg of psilocybin. + before, during and after brain measurements with the brain interface @KernelCo Flow Measurement To assess efficacy for cellular, systemic, and brain rejuvenation, I will measure: + DNA methylation: speed of aging, organ ages, including the brain + telomere length and relative telomerase activity (RTA): the cells' capacity to regenerate telomeres + functional brain measurements: cortical activity and brain age via KernelFlow + blood proteomic panel: cellular senescence, brain aging, and rejuvenation markers + brain MRI: to measure structural changes, brain age, and potential rejuvenation + cognitive, mood, and psychological assessments to measure effects on mood and mental well-being + advanced blood biomarker panel: metabolic, inflammation, brain and neuronal health markers

I’ll be at #HLTHUSA starting tomorrow. There will be 12k+ people there and we have a limited number of spots for Brain Age demos. Sign up today to get a taste for the future of #BrainHealth !

@KernelCo @NaturePortfolio @KernelCo crushing it some more!

✍️ Kernel just published a study in NPJ Dementia (@NaturePortfolio) demonstrating the ability to distinguish MCI patients from healthy age-matched controls. Using 15 minutes of brain scans, behavioral data, and a short survey, we were able to classify MCI with an AUC=0.92!

You can now learn your BrainAge with a 7 minute brain scan. Pretty cool moment. I've spent the past 10 years building this technology. 🧵

🧠Chronological age is out. BrainAge is in. Measure your BrainAge in just 7 minutes with Kernel’s advanced neuroimaging system. 📍 Now available in Los Angeles (more locations coming soon) ✨ Limited-time early bird offer available - $24.99 🔗 kernel.com/brainage

We have all felt our minds change throughout the day. But knowing what stays the same from day-to-day is especially important in research and clinical trials. We used our Flow2 device to investigate reliability of cortical brain metrics within and between days. A #tweeprint 🧵:

@guevaracodina @FScholkmann @KernelCo It's about 2.2kg with all 40 modules installed.

@FScholkmann @KernelCo @RyanMField It looks fantastic! How heavy is it?

I briefly tested the new version of the TD-fNIRS device from Kernel (Flow2, @KernelCo) .... It worked well. #fNIRS @RyanMField

@tipado @FScholkmann @KernelCo It is a modular system. The full head coverage system consists of 40 modules. Each module has 3 sources and 6 detectors for a total of 120 sources (690nm/905nm) and 240 detectors. We can form more than 3000 channels!

@FScholkmann @KernelCo @RyanMField How many optodes are inside the unit and are they modular?

@FScholkmann @KernelCo It was great to see you @FScholkmann!

This wednesday we have @RyanMField, the CTO of @KernelCo, speaking on human brain imaging at scale!

We are excited to announce a @KernelCo x @AppliedVR partnership for a joint randomized study comparing the effect of AppliedVR’s FDA-authorized, VR-based program, RelieVRx, versus a control (VR program not designed to treat pain) on the brains of patients with chronic pain.

@MatiarJ @bryan_johnson @KernelCo @neurodidact I’ll get back to you this week. Sorry it’s been hanging out in my inbox so long!

@bryan_johnson @KernelCo @neurodidact This is awesome! Would love to do some research projects using the flow….been waiting for months for @RyanMField to get back to me. 🙁

96% classification accuracy identifying an individual from brain activity w/ @KernelCo Flow. Nice work Parsa Oveisi and @neurodidact