Lectures and seminars StratNeuro Seminar with Alex Kwan

Serotonergic psychedelics such as psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT have re-emerged as promising treatments for psychiatric disorders. Remarkably, a single administration can produce therapeutic benefits that persist for weeks or even months. How can a transient pharmacological intervention lead to such enduring changes in brain function?

In this talk, I will present studies from my laboratory investigating how psilocybin acts on neural circuits. Using two-photon imaging, electrophysiology, viral tracing, and molecular and behavioral approaches in mice, we examine how psychedelics can drive transcriptional programs, promote structural plasticity, and reshape neural activity. The findings highlight psychedelics as powerful modulators of brain circuits and suggest new directions for psychiatric drug discovery.