SiP Talk #8

PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE
Implications for the Mind and Health Sciences
 

Psychedelic science is a multidisciplinary field of study which involves scholars of the mind sciences and scholars of the natural sciences. A psychedelic experience is a temporary nonordinary state of consciousness, and is induced by classic psychedelics such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and mescaline, or by atypical psychedelics – dissociative psychedelics (ketamine) or entactogenic/empathogenic psychedelics (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA). In this panel, we will mainly focus on classic (serotonergic) psychedelics, which are 5-HT2A receptor agonists. Psychological studies have shown that psychedelic experience is associated with persisting positive effects on attitudes, mood, and behavior in healthy individuals and – typically in combination with psychotherapy – with sustained symptom reductions in individuals suffering from certain mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, and addiction. Neuroscientific studies have shown that psychedelics foster functional and structural connectivity in the brain, promoting for instance the growth of dendrites and spines – structures which are also otherwise known to regress due to stress. What are the implications of such groundbreaking findings? Where do we go from here? And what legal psychedelic worlds can be envisioned when psychedelics are still – outside of research contexts – largely outlawed in most countries? These are the questions that will be addressed in this panel with top experts of the mind and health sciences.

Tuesday, 5 December 2023, 18.00–19.30, followed by an aperitif

ETH Zurich, Main Building (HG F7, Rämistrasse 101)

PANEL DISCUSSION WITH:

Prof. Dr. Matthias E. Liechti
Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Basel

Dr. Peter Gasser
Private Practice for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Solothurn

Dr. Claudia G. Schwarz
Research Centre Transitional Psychiatry, Karl-Landsteiner Private University, Krems, Austria

Prof. Dr. Johannes Bohacek
Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich

MODERATION:

PD Dr. Kurt Stocker
Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, ETH Zürich