The Potential of Psychedelics as Therapeutics

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I wanted to go from the problems that you've described to looking at some of the perhaps novel or developing potential approaches to treating addiction. The data is strongest for the use of psilocybin for depression, stories have shown and I think that even though the sample sizes are not very large, they have consistently shown improve the outcomes on patients with terminal illnesses. There's also data showing potential for PTSD and the use of psychedelic drugs. And so we don't know, first of all, we need to replicate. But assume that you replicate and it does work. So who should you see? How can you administer the drug? It is believed that the psychedelic drug is a junctive therapy while

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Nora D. Volkow, MD, is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. NIDA is the world’s largest funder of scientific research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. Dr. Volkow's work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. As a research psychiatrist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions. In particular, her studies have documented how changes in the dopamine system affect the functions of brain regions involved with reward and self-control in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging.

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[06:09] Cadaver homework.

[09:07] The Trotsky connection.

[17:07] How Nora’s father viewed the role of science.

[20:59] Julian Villarreal.

[27:38] A perspective of perseverance.

[33:48] Instilling perseverance in younger scientists.

[35:08] Dancing with Demerol.

[40:05] The current state of addiction in the US.

[44:28] The War on Drugs.

[49:42] Increasing societal confidence in therapeutic psychedelics.

[55:38] Advice for researchers seeking more federal funding.