CEHP Seminar - Ravi Das

Title: Rewriting Memories, Repurposing Drugs: Psychedelics, Memory and Mental Health

Abstract: Maladaptive memories and the harmful thoughts and behaviours they produce, are thought to play a central role in a number of mental health disorders. An ability to selectively target and modify these memories has therefore long been considered a 'silver bullet' to realise psychotherapeutic change - yet one that has largely remained elusive. The last decade has witnessed a proliferation of research into the process of memory reconsolidation as a means to rewrite maladaptive memories. At the same time, there has been a 'renaissance' of research into psychedelic drugs and their potential roles in mental health and reconsolidation as been forwarded as a therapeutic mechanism of these drugs. This talk will outline our research attempting to leverage memory reconsolidation for therapeutic benefit, by repurposing psychoactive drugs. I will also discuss the evidence for the efficacy of psychedelics in mental health and proposed mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects. Finally, I overview our current research examining whether dimethyltryptamine (DMT) can impact memory reconsolidation in heavy drinkers.