Neural Mechanisms of Psychedelic Drug Action Speaker Series 2025

As part of the ongoing Student/Postdoc-Run Speaker Series (SPRSS), and on behalf of the Neural Mechanisms of Psychedelic Drug Action Group, Dr. Michael Wheeler from Harvard Medical School will give a talk titled "Neuroplasticity and Epigenetics: Effect of Psychedelic, Therapy or Their Combination."

Abstract:

The Wheeler Lab investigates how immune system interactions with the nervous system influence behavior, inflammation, and tissue plasticity in the brain and peripheral organs. We study how environmental challenges—such as psychological stress, infection, or psychoactive drugs—modulate immune cell function and tissue inflammation. Our lab recently showed that psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin and MDMA have demonstrated unexpected capacity to attenuate inflammatory responses in the brain, offering a novel lens into brain-body communication (*Chung, *Lee, et al., Nature 2025). Specifically, we showed that psychedelics recalibrate neuroimmune networks in the brain meninges via vasculature- and sympathetic tone–dependent redistribution of inflammatory monocytes. In this talk, I will highlight mechanisms in the brain and immune system that drive responses to stress and discuss their control by psychedelic drugs as well as future directions.

For information on other talks organized by the 'Neural Mechanisms of Psychedelic Drug Action' Student/Postdoc-Run Group, view the program overview here.