How psychedelic medicine is changing our understanding of psychiatric disorders, their treatments, and the fundamental biology of the brainAbout this Event
Doors open 6:30pm / Talk begins 7:00pm / Talk ends 8:30pm
Presented by: Professor David Nutt and Professor Emma Robinson
In this lecture Professor David Nutt will discuss the latest discoveries from clinical studies about how psychedelic drugs affect the brain and the exciting clinical potential these drugs offer. Professor Emma Robinson will focus on studies using psychedelics to explore the fundamental biology of emotional behaviour, what we have learnt about how antidepressants may work from studying these drugs and even what this may mean for the underlying causes of depression.
Mood disorders are highly prevalent and on the increase and we still know very little about why they develop or how best to treat them. Although a field with many challenges, it is also an area that has seen major advances in recent years. In 2000, a landmark paper showed that ketamine could produce both rapid improvements in mood after a single dose and effects which lasted for up to 2 weeks. Subsequent studies with psilocybin suggest similar rapid changes in mood occur after a single treatment and these effects lasted in some people for several months.
These studies have provided the momentum for a whole new avenue for exploration and these studies are beginning to reveal all sorts of exciting new biology and psychology. One of the most intriguing aspects of these rapid-acting antidepressants is the observation that they can induce sustained changes in mood which last long after their pharmacological effects.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]
Event Venue
Victoria Rooms, Victoria Rooms, Bristol, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00