May 13, 2020
Frederick S. Barrett, PhD, is affiliated with the Center for
Psychedelic & Consciousness Research (@JHPsychedelics) at Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore (@Hopkins Medicine).
Dr. Barrett
spoke with Nick Andrews (@Nick_Andrews_) at @TEDMED 2020,
about the research that has been conducted by the Center for Psychedelic &
Consciousness Research on the impact of psychedelics, or
hallucinogens, on psychiatric disorders. He has no disclosures.
Take-home points
- Dr. Barrett transitioned into neuroscience research through his
interest in the effect of music on human emotions and the
brain.
- Until 1970, psychedelics such as psilocybin were widely used in
clinical research, with more than 1,000 academic papers published
about their use. For example, psychedelics were used as a model for
schizophrenia and helped identify the role of serotonin in
psychosis. They were also studied to treat addiction and as a
treatment for existential anxiety in cancer. In 1970, psychedelics
were deemed illegal by the Controlled
Substances Act which brought the United States in compliance
with the
1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
-
Roland R. Griffiths, PhD, and a group at Johns Hopkins have led
the way in reestablishing clinical research using
psychedelics.
- Enthusiasm at the lab is borne out by
the potential that this research might help many people.
- Institutional concerns also are at work because of the “rich
and sordid history” of these compounds.
- In the next 10 years, Dr. Barrett would like to have a clear
understanding of the effect size of psychedelics on mood and
substance use disorders.
- Psychedelic agents have a novel therapeutic quality: Studies
support that a few or even one exposure to a psychedelic compound
has a short-term biological effect and can lead to a long-lasting
therapeutic effect, such as remission of mood disorder or change in
personality characteristics. The clinical outcomes are mediated by
the intensity of the psychedelic experience.
Summary
- The Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research is working
to discern which medical indications have the most promise for
being treated with psychedelics. Its goal is a balanced and
rational approach to psychedelic research and subsequent treatment
considering the societal and political contexts around these
drugs.
- Dr. Barrett trained in music education and psychology and has
been a musician all this life. He moved into neuroscience during
graduate school and used music as a tool to study emotions and the
brain.
- Music, meditation, and psychedelics have the similar flow
component that inspires converging research questions and a desire
to analyze the brain and understand this experience that is central
to consciousness.
- Music is fundamental to the human experience, and it is
exciting to try to describe the neural circuitry of how music
affects the brain and emotions.
- Music is useful in therapy because it can regulate emotions.
There has long been an overlap of the use of psychedelics and music
in therapy. A prime example of this is guided imagery and music
(GIM), which
is a specialized form of therapy that arose out of work done by
Helen Bonny, PhD, a nurse, music therapist, and concert violinist.
Bonny
developed a protocol for using music to regulate emotions during
psychedelic experiences.
- In the next 10 years, Dr. Barrett would like to have a clear
understanding of the effect size of psychedelics on mood and
substance use disorders.
- It will be interesting to see whether and how psychedelics are
efficacious in treating an array of substance use disorders. If
effective, they would be a single-use treatment for addiction to
substances that interact with diverse neural circuits.
References
Barrett FS et al. Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 10. doi:
10.1038/S41598-020-59282-y.
Barrett FS, Griffiths RR. Curr Top
Behav Neurosci. 2018;36:393-430.
Barrett FS et al.
Int Rev Psychiatry. 2018;30(4):350‐62.
Griffiths RR et al. J
Psychopharmacol. 2018 Jan;32(1):49-69.
Barrett FS, Janata P.
Neuropsychologia. 2016 Oct;91;234-46.
Johnson MW et al. Am J Drug
Alcohol Abuse. 2017 Jan;43(1):55-60.
Show notes by Jacqueline Posada, MD, who is associate producer
of the Psychcast and consultation-liaison psychiatry fellow with
the Inova Fairfax Hospital/George Washington University program in
Falls Church, Va. Dr. Posada has no conflicts of interest.
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