Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder | Guest Podcast

by Anthony Effinger

The Think Neuro podcast from Pacific Neuroscience Institute takes you into the clinic, operating room and laboratory with doctors and surgeons who are tackling the most challenging brain diseases and disorders. Host: Anthony Effinger

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Episode 46: Show Notes

In a study published on August 31, 2023, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, psilocybin showed promise as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). JAMA Associate Editor Dr. Donald C. Goff, speaks with publication author Dr. Charles L. Raison, from the Usona Institute, about the study, as well as Dr. Rachel Yehuda from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who wrote an accompanying editorial about the potential benefits of psychedelic therapies. Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s director of Treatment & Research In Psychedelics Center, Dr. Keith Heinzerling, and PNI Director Dr. Daniel Kelly, were co-investigators in this clinical trial.

About Dr. Kelly

Daniel Kelly, MD, a board-certified neurosurgeon, is the Director and one of the founders of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Director of the Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pacific Pituitary Disorders Center, and Professor of Neurosurgery at Saint John’s Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center. Considered to be one of the top neurosurgeons in the US, he is a multiple recipient of the Patients’ Choice Award. Additionally, Dr. Kelly has been awarded the Southern California SuperDoctors distinction 16 years in a row. Over the last 5 years, he has increasingly focused his attention on helping advance novel mental health care solutions and in 2019, launched TRIP by recruiting Dr. Keith Heinzerling. He is a co-investigator on TRIP clinical trials and in 2021 he completed the California Institute of Integral Studies Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research training program.

About Dr. Keith Heinzerling

Dr. Keith Heinzerling practices internal medicine and is an addiction medicine specialist at the Pacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute. His clinical and research focuses are on the treatment of alcohol, drug and substance use problems, with anti-addiction medications. As director of the Pacific Treatment & Research In Psychedelics (TRIP) Center, he is involved in the development of psychedelic-assisted therapies for those suffering with addiction, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He is the principal investigator of clinical trials using psychedelic-assisted therapy tackling conditions including alcohol use disorder and major depression. Dr. Heinzerling is a trained psychedelic guide and holds a Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research (CPTR) from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

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Anthony Effinger

Think Neuro's host is Anthony Effinger, an award-winning journalist who is fascinated with neuroscience and the workings of the brain. Anthony spent 24 years at Bloomberg News, where he covered all aspects of finance, with forays into science and health. In 2006, the Association of Health Care Journalists awarded him first prize for Playing the Odds, an in-depth piece on the changing strategies used to treat prostate cancer. These days, he is a staff writer at Willamette Week, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Last updated: October 20th, 2023