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 |
| Dimitris Repantis | Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Berlin | Germany |
| 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
Events
Psychedelic Industrial Panel at ECNP Congress
October 7-10, 2023, Barcelona
OS06 – New Frontiers in psychedelics