Over the last few years, a number of clinical pilot studies have examined the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for a variety of mental health conditions; including anxiety, OCD, smoking and alcohol dependence. David Erritzoe et al have recently
completed a similar feasibility study in treatment-resistant major depression. Based on previous observations in healthy psychedelic naïve volunteers of long-lasting increases in the personality trait “openness” after a single high-dose of psilocybin, Dr. Erritzoe et al speculated that similar changes in personality may occur in patients with major depression after their treatment with psilocybin. This talk will report on a clinical trial involving 19 pa-
tients with treatment-resistant depression who received two doses of psilocybin in an open label pilot study. Significant changes in personality traits, as assessed with pre- and post-treatment personality measurements using the full 240-item NEO-PIR, were observed. These data and their relationships with treatment response will be presented in this talk.
BIOGRAPHY
David Erritzoe is a medical doctor and clinical psychiatrist. After finishing medical school at Copenhagen University, he obtained his PhD on serotonergic neurotransmission in the Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging (CIMBI) in Copenhagen. He is post-doctoral researcher at Imperial College London under the mentorship of Professors Anne Lingford-Hughes and David Nutt. There, he investigates dopaminergic and opioid neurotransmission in addiction. Additionally, he is part of a research programme together with Professor Nutt and Dr Carhart-Harris conducting research in the neurobiology and the treatment potential of MDMA and classic psychedelics.
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