Neuroscience of Psychedelics Workshop

Workshop leaders will present the latest advances in scientific understanding of how psychedelics affect the brain, in terms that are accurate yet accessible. Topics will include: DMT and its role in the brain, new views on the receptor interactions of psychedelic agents, mechanisms of psychedelic-induced visuals, what makes MDMA different from most other psychedelics, and up-to-date information on the potential harms and benefits of these fascinating compounds.

Until his retirement in June 2012, David E. Nichols, PhD, was the Robert C. and Charlotte P. Anderson Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology, and a Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue University. He also was an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He currently is an Adjunct Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Dave Nichols received his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1973, followed by a postdoctoral stint in Pharmacology. From his time as a graduate student, Nichols focused his research on the relationship between molecular structure and the action of substances that modify behavior. His research took him to Purdue University in 1974, where he remained until his retirement this year.

His research was funded by government agencies for more than three decades. Internationally recognized for his research on centrally active drugs, he is one of the world's foremost authorities on psychedelic agents, and founded the nonprofit Heffter Research Institute in 1993. He also was a pioneer in the study of the medicinal chemistry of dopamine D1 receptor agonists, and in 1991 he and his colleagues first showed that dopamine D1 agonists had remarkable efficacy in a primate model of Parkinson's disease. He consults for the pharmaceutical industry and has served on numerous committees and government review groups.

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