Dispatch: The Neurobiology of Psychedelics Gordon Research Conference - Circuitry, Consciousness, and Clinical Horizons (Part 2)

Neurobiology of Psychedelics Gordon Research Conference updates (days 2-4) focus on how psychedelics reshape neural circuitry, plasticity, and therapeutic-relevant behavior. Day 2 emphasizes psychedelic-evoked neuroplasticity, including work on 2-Bromo-LSD and spine growth, psilocybin-induced synaptic and functional plasticity in rodents, and dopaminergic changes tied to ketamine exposure. Talks also cover psilocybin effects on specific prefrontal cell types and single-cell approaches, plus MDMA-related efforts to restore social deficits in autism models through neurotransmitter release changes. Day 3 highlights drug discovery and mechanistic techniques, such as receptor structure-function mapping (including beyond 5-HT2A), receptor-biased signaling comparisons across psychedelics, and potential cardiovascular safety questions around repeated LSD exposure. The session also covers imaging and whole-brain mapping approaches across doses and species, including PET and zebrafish stress-restoration studies with psilocybin. Day 4 shifts to human psychopharmacology and therapeutics, including PET-based mechanistic work, clinical trial directions for conditions like depression and OCD, ketamine and MDMA translational targets for compulsive symptoms, and psilocybin safety and feasibility efforts in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.