An Industry Perspective on Psychedelic Drug Action

Recent years have seen a significant upsurge in basic and applied research concerning the therapeutic utility of several classical serotonergic psychedelic agents, including psilocybin, LSD and dimethyltryptamine. Such agents are showing promising signs in a number of different disease states in clinical trials which has naturally prompted a parallel resurgence in preclinical studies of psychedelic mechanism of action.

This presentation will consider how far basic preclinical science has come in understanding the mechanism of action of psychedelic agents and why they may be effective in particular diseases. A body of evidence is growing that provides a means to plausibly speculate that induction of a psychedelic experience significantly depends upon activation of the 5HT2A receptor and ultimately causes profound, transient changes in functional brain connectivity. However, connecting these events to longer term treatment efficacy is still an emerging area of research. Animal researchers are currently trying to expand their repertoire of endpoints away from traditional measures, such as the head twitch response, to drive a more thorough interrogation of brain and behavioural function in this context. This presentation will consider some of the most promising endpoints being researched and how they might facilitate further translational neuroscience.

• Room: C122- College Building

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Host or Publisher BNA Local Group at Middlesex University