Will Psychedelics and Hallucinogens Revolutionise Psychiatry? – Conversations with Prof David Nutt

Dr Sanil Rege talks with Prof David Nutt, an expert in the field of psychedelic research.

Prof David Nutt is a researcher, policy adviser, author, and currently head of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and Chair of the Charity Drug Science. Prof Nutt uses brain imaging research to explore the effects of drugs in the brain and the mechanisms of disorder such as addiction and depression.

Under his leadership, the psychedelic research group at Imperial  College has become one of the world’s foremost psychedelic research laboratories, publishing landmark research on psychedelic neuroscience and developing new therapies for mental illness. Prof Nutt was previously chair of the UK Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs.

He has held many leadership positions in both UK and European academic, scientific, and clinical organisations, including presidencies of the European Brain Council, the British Neuroscience Association, the British Association of Psychopharmacology and the European College of Neuro-Psychopharmacology.  In 2013, he won the John Maddox Prize from Nature Sense about science for standing up for science. And in 2017, a doctor of laws on Kasa from the University of Bath.

Dr Sanil Rege is a Consultant Psychiatrist and founder of Psych Scene and Vita Healthcare.

Psychedelics are any of the so-called mind-expanding drugs that can induce states of altered perception and thoughts, frequently with a heightened awareness of sensory input but with diminished control over what is being experienced. [Rucker J et al., 2018]

Hallucinogens are not classified as ‘psychosis inducers’ but instead are classified by their chemical structure, pharmacological mechanism of action, and clinical properties [Romeu et al. 2016]:

• Classic Psychedelics
• Empathogens/Entactogens
• Dissociative Anaesthetics

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