Psychedelic Medicine: from research to therapeutic applications | Prof. Dr. Kim Kuypers

Psychedelic Medicine: from Research with Psychedelics to Therapeutic Applications with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kim PC Kuypers @ uniMIND Symposium 2022 - Synergies and Crossroads in Psychedelic Research ______________________________ Psychiatric diseases like depression, anxiety disorders, and addiction are very prevalent. A range of pharmacological and psychological interventions is used to combat these diseases and consequently increase patients’ quality of life. With more than half a century of experience with traditional psychiatric medicines, there is still no ‘cure’ for psychiatric diseases, the route to remission can be challenging, and for a substantial number of patients, the current treatments are not sufficient. In the last decade, there has been a strong and renewed interest in psychedelics’ therapeutic potential; substances that were already used as an adjunct to psychotherapy more than 40 years ago. Due to a combination of circumstances, increased recreational use, new regulations for clinical research, and regulatory restrictions, research came to a standstill. Fortunately, recent studies with psychedelics are getting traction and show therapeutic potential after few administrations. In my talk, I will address these substances’ potential for psychiatry, zoom in on MDMA, focus on what we know about the psychological and biological mechanisms of action, sketch where this field is at the moment, and which steps still have to be taken before these substances can enter the psychiatric ward 𝗞𝗶𝗺 𝗣𝗖 𝗞𝘂𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗵.𝗗. is affiliated as an Associate Professor with Maastricht University, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, where she obtained her Ph.D. in 2007. Her main goal is to understand the neurobiology underlying flexible cognition, empathy, and well-being. To accomplish this, she uses a psychopharmacological model to induce (sub)acute and longer-lasting effects on the behavior mentioned above with psychedelics and investigate the underlying biology. She also conducts survey research to understand the motives underlying psychedelic use and the experienced effects. She develops new paradigms to study cognitive flexibility and empathy in a more ecologically valid way. The survey research gives direction to her experimental research in which she uses the newly developed paradigms. Her research contributes to understanding the biological and psychological underpinnings of cognitive and emotional processes linked to well-being.