Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet
Denmark
History
The group was in 2022 established as a thematic working group, in response to the growing interest and research focus on psychedelic treatments. In 2023, we organized the ECNP New Frontiers Meeting on the topic of psychedelics in Nice; the meeting received massive attention underscoring how timely a meeting on this topic was. Starting with a core group of researchers with a focus on facilitating cross-site collaborations and data sharing, we have grown to also include now 2 ECA members.
The establishment of the ECNP network on psychedelics has meant that non-academic organizations, regulators and companies have access to European academic experts on the mechanisms and use of psychedelic treatments. The network has also been instrumental to define current research gaps in how psychedelics work as, e.g., in our publications in Neuroscience Applied. Academically, the network has successfully organized and suggested symposia in meetings for relevance of neuropsychopharmacology.
Goals
1
Represent the methodological and technical skills and scientific expertise required for the development of relevant human and animal studies in order to set up collaborative projects.
2
Share collected data among the constitutive centres of the present network to carry out pilot or ancillary studies testing new hypotheses or replicating previous findings.
3
Invest in shared stocks of GMP-produced psychedelics.
4
Support policy-making vis-à-vis politicians and regulators.
5
Develop educational material to provide evidence-based information to professionals and society.
6
Support the careers of early-career scientists performing psychedelic research.
Core members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Eero Castren | University of Helsinki | Helsinki | Finland |
| Christina Dalla | University of Athens | Athens | Greece |
| David Erritzoe | Imperial College London | London | United Kingdom |
| Patrick Fisher | Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| Gerhard Gründer | Central Institute of Mental Health | Mannheim | Germany |
| Kim Kuypers | Maastricht University | Maastricht | The Netherlands |
| Matthias Liechti | University of Basel | Basel | Switzerland |
| Juan Pablo Lopez | Karolinska Institutet | Stockholm | Sweden |
| Johan Lundberg | Karolinska Institute | Stockholm | Sweden |
| Tomas Palenicek | National Institute of Mental Health | Klecany | Czech Republic |
| Katrin Preller | University of Zurich | Zurich | Switzerland |
| Robert Schoevers | University Medical Center Groningen | Groningen | The Netherlands |
| Carolina Seybert | Champalimaud Foundation | Lisboa | Portugal |
| Dea Stenbæk | University of Copenhagen | Copenhagen | Denmark |
Affiliated members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Naomi Fineberg | University of Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire | United Kingdom |
| Vibe Frokjaer | University of Copenhagen | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| Guy Goodwin | University of Oxford COMPASS Pathways |
London | United Kingdom |
| David Nutt | Imperial College London | London | United Kingdom |
| Eric Vermetten | Leiden University | Leiden | The Netherlands |
Early Career Academy members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Friederike Holze | University Hospital Basel | Basel | Switzerland |
| Jessica Mingardi | University of Milan | Milan | Italy |
Publications
-
2021Carhart-Harris et al.
Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression.
New England Journal of Medicine -
2019Madsen et al.
Psychedelic effects of psilocybin correlate with serotonin 2A receptor occupancy and plasma psilocin levels.
Neuropsychopharmacology -
2018Preller et al.
Changes in global and thalamic brain connectivity in LSD-induced altered states of consciousness are attributable to the 5-HT2A receptor.
eLife
Research projects
PsyPal
The trial will investigate whether psilocybin therapy can help ease psychological and existential distress in patients suffering from one of four different progressive diseases.
Grant agreement No. 101137378
COST PSYNET
Create a platform for psychedelic research that will pave the way for the submission of large collaborative research projects, multicentre academic clinical trials at European level, open access data sharing, big data analysis and the conditions for the implementation of psychedelics in mental health care.
CA24130
Events
International Society for Serotonin Research 2025
July 7-11, 2025, Vienna, Austria
Symposia 13: Clinical Mechanisms for Persisting Positive Effects of Psychedelics
Psychedelic Research 2025
7-11 July 2025, Groningen, The Netherlands
An interdisciplinary research perspective on psychedelics.
A European perspective on psychedelics research, from pharmacology to clinical effects
February-March 2025
Webinar series on the ECNP Knowledge Hub.
EMA workshop on psychedelics
April 16-17, 2024, Amsterdam
EMA multi-stakeholder workshop on psychedelics – Towards an EU regulatory framework.
Psychedelic Industrial Panel at ECNP Congress
October 7-10, 2023, Barcelona
OS06 – New Frontiers in psychedelics
New Frontiers Meeting 2023
19-20 March 2023, Nice, France
Psychedelics