More than 50 years after emerging as a potential treatment for anxiety and depression, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and other chronic illnesses, psychedelics appear to be making a comeback. But where does the research stand currently on psychedelics and what do we really know about how these compounds may affect the brain?

With the number of people living with mental health conditions on the rise and the re-emergence of psychedelics as a possible therapy, this topic is very timely. Some may call it a “perfect storm” – one the medical and scientific communities will need to carefully navigate, in order to tap the potential of psychedelics, safely and cautiously.

Featuring:
Dr. Susan Abbey is Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the University Health Network (UHN), and a Clinician Investigator with the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute.  She is also a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Toronto and the inaugural Director of the Nikean Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Centre at UHN.

Dr. Lakshmi Kotra is a Medicinal Chemist and Senior Scientist with Krembil Brain Institute and a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at The University of Toronto. He is also an academic entrepreneur with three decades of expertise in drug discovery, development, and pharmaceuticals, and the co-founder and CEO of Lucid Psycheceuticals.

Additional Resources:
Nikean Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Centre at UHN
First-of-its-kind research centre will bring psychedelic psychotherapy to UHN
The Revival of Psychedelic Research – ORT Times article
Lucid Psycheceuticals

The Your Complex Brain production team is Heather Sherman, Jessica Schmidt, Dr. Amy Ma, Kim Perry, Alley Wilson, Sara Yuan, Meagan Anderi, Liz Chapman, and Lorna Gilfedder.

The Krembil Brain Institute, part of University Health Network, in Toronto, is home to one of the world's largest and most comprehensive teams of physicians and scientists uniquely working hand-in-hand to prevent and confront problems of the brain and spine, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, stroke, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, brain cancer or concussion, in their lifetime. Through state-of-the-art patient care and advanced research, we are working relentlessly toward finding new treatments and cures.

Do you want to know more about the Krembil Brain Institute at UHN? Visit us at: uhn.ca/krembil

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