UCSF Research Program Aims to Advance Psychedelic Treatments, Research

Thanks to $6.4 million in private funding, a new Neuroscape Psychedelics Division has been formed at the University of Califorinia, San Francisco. The division will focus on the delivery of more personalized and precise psychedelic treatments for various mental health conditions.

The Neuroscape division will be led by Robin Carhart-Harris, a leading psychedelic science researcher and a steering committee member for the upcoming Sana Symposium.

The division will focus on contextual elements that shape a patient’s experience when receiving psychedelic treatments, including conditions that exist before, during and after treatments. Studies will record patients’ neural and physiological status and facilitate the tailoring of environment, including music, light and scent.

“This research will allow us to understand if a particular treatment is well-suited to an individual, assessing in real-time how an experience is unfolding,” Jennifer Mitchell, associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at UCSF, said in a news release. “We aim to dynamically adjust key contextual elements in a way that guides patients toward an optimal experience—thus maximizing long-term, sustainable positive benefits.”

Mitchell will lead clinical trials on the use of MDMA as a potential treatment for PTSD.