But in the case of Brendan, he had recently been exposed as a white supremacist and lost his job when he was enrolled in the study. He was full of regret about getting caught out.

I imagine that this person was already contemplating personal growth, and the drugs just kicked his not-fully-conscious or not-fully=acknowledged feelings into conscious, actionable thought.

The case suggested that MDMA has the potential to “influence a person’s values and priorities,” the authors wrote in a case study about Brendan. They hypothesized that if extremist views are fueled by fear, anger, and cognitive biases, they could potentially be treated with drugs.

It’s interesting to learn, what this paragraph seems to suggest, that for some people holding extremist views is actually the result of mental illness. It is probably hard for people to realize and/or even admit that they are ill until something drastic happens.

Of course his name is “Brendan”. hmmm

MDMA releases the chemical oxytocin, which our bodies naturally produce. The chemical causes animals to fiercely love their own, but also protect them from others — which can mean a disdain for outsiders may actually increase.

I would have to see more data or examples to take this last clause as real. It sounds like some off-the-cuff dualist BS conjecturing. I can’t imagine oxytocin increasing disdain of outsiders just because it induces the opposite feelings toward your in-group.