The administration of psilocybin to healthy hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock-fMRI environment: a preliminary investigation of tolerability.
Imperial College London, Professor David Nutt and Dr. Robin Cahart Harris
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has emerged as a powerful imaging modality but psilocybin has never been administered in this environment. Recent guidelines for human research with hallucinogens cautioned against exposing “intoxicated” subjects to potentially anxiogenic situations (Johnson et al. 2008). In accordance with this advice, this study seeks to assess the tolerability of intravenously administered psilocybin in healthy hallucinogen-experienced volunteers in a mock- fMRI setting as a preliminary stage to a controlled investigation using this imaging modality.
The Effects of Psilocybin on Cerebral Blood Flow
Imperial College London, Professor David Nutt, Dr. Robin Cahart Harris and Amanda Feilding.
This is the first controlled study of psilocybin in the UK (Carhart-Harris et al. 2010) and the first ever fMRI study of psilocybin . Our findings were remarkable in that they showed a reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in regions that regulate consciousness: the thalamus, globus pallidus, frontoinsular, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and bilateral lateral parietal cortex/angular gyrus (AG).In the past two years the Beckley-Imperial collaboration has developed groundbreaking research into the brain effects of psilocybin.
Can Cannabis Enhance Creativity? A Naturalistic Cannabis Study
University College London, Professor Valerie Curran and Dr. Celia Morgan
This study investigates the putative connection between cannabis and enhanced creativity, and are currently analysing the data from the first 400 participants.
This large naturalistic study, involving several hundred participants smoking their own cannabis, from which we will obtain data on the ratios of the main psychoactive compound THC to the anxiolytic compound cannabidiol (CBD). This will also allow us to gain valuable information about the chemical composition of ‘street’ cannabis. Additionally, we are collecting genetic and personality data to enable us to delve deeper into the relationship between cannabis use and the subjective effects experienced by individual participants. We are also administering validated tests of cognition and creativity.
