Stress & hypothalamic circuits
Currently in progress.
Psychedelics & seizure disorders
This study was the first investigation of how LSD affects neural rhythms in freely behaving mice. Using in vivo electrophysiology (electrodes implanted into the brain for intracranial EEG), we collected recordings and assessed power spectral density (PSD) in 4 key brain regions associated with psychedelic action. Overall, we found the most robust changes occurred in hippocampal regions. Perhaps most interestingly, LSD increased signal variance between animals, lending preclinical support to the entropic brain theory of psychedelic drug action.
Drug-resistant epilepsy affects roughly a third of people with epilepsy, and individuals with seizure disorders have largely been excluded from psychedelic-assisted therapy trials. This study provided the first preclinical evaluation of whether LSD modulates motor seizures in mice. In the systemic kainic acid-induced seizure model, 30 μg/kg LSD pretreatment completely prevented status epilepticus and status-induced death in male mice and reduced overall seizure severity. Effects were dose- and sex-dependent. The results support continued preclinical investigation of LSD's anticonvulsant properties and inform inclusion criteria in clinical research.
* First author
Cannabinoids in epilepsy
About one third of people with epilepsy do not respond to existing anti-seizure medications, and the probability of seizure freedom with the addition of each subsequent drug trial drops substantially. Cannabis-based prescription medicines (CBPMs) have shown promise in this population, but the clinical features of responders had not been characterized. Our group reported a retrospective case series of 19 patients who achieved complete seizure freedom for at least 3 months while on CBPM therapy.