Marcus Glennon

Postdoc, UCL (@PsychedelicUNIT), Psychopharmacology and Neuroimaging | Looking at how DMT affects memory and the brain (and the relevance of this in AUD)🧠

[Dr Anjali Bhat @AnjaliiBhat]

Very happy to share our new preprint, ‘How to set up a psychedelic study’, a monumental effort that brings together several of the major psychedelic research teams across the UK ✨

https://t.co/EHhBOLWFAi

[Rebecca Harding @bex_harding]

🚨WE'RE RECRUITING!🚨

Are you looking to cut down on your alcohol consumption? We are researching the potential of the psychedelic drug DMT to help reduce alcohol intake.

Who we're looking for:
- Age: 21-65
- Heavy drinkers
- Based in London
👉https://t.co/coSnxnmzc1

[Dr. Rosalind G McAlpine @rosmcalpine]

We're looking for people who have participated in a psychedelic trial to review materials for a new study. It's a paid opportunity (about 4 hours). Your experience could really help future participants.

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Interesting stuff, @LexiJHand! Looking forward to seeing where this research goes.

#BAP2024 #BeyondTheRoom

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder. Patients can get stuck in a loop of withdrawal, anticipation, and bingeing.

It is thought there is a lack of "top-down control" over emotion-generating regions.

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Next step? Explore whether reduction of insula reactivity by aprepitant translates into a reduction in craving and relapse.

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Background:
- Opioid dependence is a big problem in the UK
- Heroin relapse are as high as 70%
- Treatments are lacking!
- Negative emotional processing may be dysregulated in dependence.

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

And finally in this symposium, we have @LexiJHand from @icl_addiction, discussing:

"Aprepitant attenuates insula reactivity to aversive images in methadone-maintained opioid dependence and healthy controls"

Note: aprepitant is an anti-nausea drug!

#BAP2024 #BeyondTheRoom

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Nice talk, Chambrez-Zita! The biological mechanisms underlying negative symptoms of psychosis are less understood than positive symptoms, so it is great to learn about another piece of the puzzle on this.

#BAP2024 #BeyondTheRoom

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Thirdly, Chambrez-Zita Zauchenberger from the @UniofOxford, on:

"Amphetamine blunts value-related ventral striatal activation in reward-related decision making"

#BAP2024 #BeyondTheRoom

[Marcus Glennon @marcus_glennon]

Increased striatal dopamine signalling could obscure signals from relevant stimuli in the environment.

This reduction in response to RELEVANT, rewarding stimuli could be what reduces motivation from pleasurable activities in people with negative psychosis symptoms.