Rael Cahn, MD, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences (Clinician Educator)

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Overview

Dr. Rael Cahn completed his PhD in Neurosciences in 2007 and received his medical degree in 2008 from UC San Diego in La Jolla, CA. He completed his residency with the UC Irvine Medical Center Psychiatry Residency Program in 2014 and joined the USC faculty. Dr. Cahn has been researching and publishing on the clinical and brain effects of mindfulness and meditative practices throughout his medical and scientific career as well as teaching mindfulness meditation in group settings for medical professionals as well as patients. He is currently affiliated with the USC Brain and Creativity Institute where he is conducting psychological and brain research in the domains of behavioral and psychological interventions including mindfulness and meditative practices in healthy populations dealing with everyday stressors as well as those with psychiatric illness including substance use disorders, depression, and anxiety.

Awards

  • Alliant University: Early Career Award for Contributions in Integrative Psychology, 2010
  • Council on Spiritual Practices: William James Award, 2004

Education and Training

  • UCSD, La Jolla, CA — MD — 2008 — Medicine
  • UCSD, La Jolla, CA — PhD — 2007 — Neuroscience

Research Keywords

  • mindfulness
  • meditation
  • psychophysiology
  • embodied cognition
  • self awareness
  • self narrative
  • well-being
  • depression
  • yoga
  • cognitive neuroscience
  • bipolar disorder
  • affective neuroscience
  • EEG
  • neurophenomenology
  • narrative-free awareness
  • psychedelic therapy

Publications

  • Occipital gamma activation during Vipassana meditation. Cogn Process. 2010 Feb; 11(1):39-56.. View in PubMed
  • Meditation (Vipassana) and the P3a event-related brain potential. Int J Psychophysiol. 2009 Apr; 72(1):51-60.. View in PubMed
  • Effects of psilocybin on time perception and temporal control of behaviour in humans. J Psychopharmacol. 2007 Jan; 21(1):50-64.. View in PubMed
  • Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies. Psychol Bull. 2006 Mar; 132(2):180-211.. View in PubMed
  • Cannabis and endocannabinoid modulators: Therapeutic promises and challenges. Clin Neurosci Res. 2005; 5(2-4):185-199.. View in PubMed
  • Bid regulation of neuronal apoptosis. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 2001 Jun 29; 128(2):187-90.. View in PubMed