RSS FeedUpcoming EventsStress biomarkers in adolescent depression: toward predictors of treatment response, March 19https://events.berkeley.edu/Psych/event/243172-stress-biomarkers-in-adolescent-depression-toward

Bio: Tiffany Ho is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Faculty Member of the Brain Research Institute and Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UC Los Angeles. Dr. Ho received her Ph.D. in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience) from UC San Diego in 2012 and completed postdoctoral training at UC San Francisco and Stanford University before beginning a faculty position at UC San Francisco in 2018. In 2023, she moved to UCLA, where she directs a lab focused on understanding how experiences and perceptions of stress play a role in shaping adolescent brain development, and how these changes contribute to the onset and maintenance of depression in youth. Dr. Ho and her team draw from principles of developmental psychology and affective science and use tools from clinical neuroscience–primarily magnetic resonance imaging–to understand the link between stress and depression in the adolescent brain.

Abstract: Adolescent-onset depression is a debilitating condition that is often triggered by stressful experiences that influence fronto-cingulate-limbic brain circuitry. Adolescence itself is a time where fronto-cingulate-limbic circuitry undergoes significant maturation; thus, it is critical that models of adolescent depression center neurodevelopmental processes if we are to improve our ability to treat this disorder more effectively. Prior research in animals have identified inflammatory and glutamatergic pathways through which stress affects neurodevelopment, with emerging evidence that these stress biomarkers are implicated in humans with depression. In this talk, I will present recent data demonstrating that many of the same fronto-cingulate-limbic circuits impacted by adolescent depression are also targets of inflammation. I will also show that higher levels of inflammation are associated with higher levels of glutamate in these circuits in depressed adolescents, with evidence that these factors may predict clinical course and treatment response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (which are the first-line pharmacological treatments for this population). Finally, I will present recent data from an ongoing mechanistic R01 study designed to predict treatment response to first-line antidepressants from stress-related changes in peripheral inflammation and levels of glutamate in fronto-cingulate-limbic circuitry.

https://events.berkeley.edu/Psych/event/243172-stress-biomarkers-in-adolescent-depression-toward
The Paradox of Gender: Between Blindness and Insight in Social Perception, March 20https://events.berkeley.edu/live/events/242537-the-paradox-of-gender-between-blindness-and

The construct of gender is both deeply problematic and highly functional. On the one hand, gender constrains identity and reifies problematic stereotypes; but on the other, gender organizes social perception and facilitates sensemaking. My talk explores this paradox, and, more specifically, the tension between the belief that we shouldnot see gender and the stubborn reality that we do. I show that although people’s gender-blind attitudes (e.g., beliefs that we should de-emphasize or remove gender) predict positive outcomes for women and gender non-conforming individuals, the practical application of these beliefs undermines people’s ability to understand, connect with, and ultimately humanize others. In the first part of my talk, I discuss research demonstrating that people who endorse gender-blindness are more likely to support gender equality (e.g., less sexism, more advocacy). I then present studies revealing the fundamental importance and inescapability of gender in social cognition. This work demonstrates that gender is the primary social category people use to understand “humanness,” and this tendency to perceive gendered entities as more human generalizes across cultures and gender identities. I conclude by discussing the functions and dysfunctions of gender as a primary lens of social cognition.

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Research spotlight event: The future of psychedelic science at UC Berkeley, March 27https://events.berkeley.edu/live/events/243288-research-spotlight-event-the-future-of-psychedelic

Explore contemporary psychedelic research and its exciting possibilities for the future with UC Berkeley professors Gül Dölen, Daniela Kaufer, Michael Silver, and Noah Whiteman at a special online event hosted by BCSP Executive Director Imran Khan, on March 27, 1 pm PST. 

Why did psychedelic compounds evolve? How do they produce such profound changes in behavior, physiology, perception, emotion, and social interactions? What enables them to have the potential to support healing and therapeutic advances?

The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) is bringing together leading researchers who are investigating these questions and many more.

Despite historical challenges, including extensive regulatory requirements and societal stigma, the tide is turning for psychedelic science. Years of suppression mean that the contemporary resurgence of psychedelics research is still in its infancy. While clinical trials in humans are showing promising results of psychedelic-assisted therapy for treating a variety of mental health disorders, relatively little is known about the neural mechanisms of the actions of psychedelics, why plants, fungi, and animals evolved to produce psychedelic substances, or how psychedelics can be deployed as research tools to better understand the brain and mind.

The 2023 UC Berkeley Psychedelics Survey revealed that 78 percent of a sample of U.S. voters support making it easier for researchers to study psychedelic substances. At this event, the BCSP presents leading scholars and their visions for the future of psychedelic research — and why such research is necessary and timely.

At this event, hosted by BCSP’s Executive Director Imran Khan, our speakers will introduce the core concepts of their research and their hopes for the future of psychedelic science:

Professor Gül Dölen holds the Renee & U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Bob Parsons Endowed Chair in psychology, psychedelics, and neuroscience. Dr. Dölen joined the UC Berkeley faculty in January 2024, where she continues her groundbreaking work on the brain mechanisms underlying the therapeutic potential of MDMA and other drugs. Research in the Dölen laboratory on how psychedelics influence “critical periods” of neural plasticity and learning has substantial implications for the future development of psychedelic-assisted therapies. https://www.dolenlab.org/

Imran Khan is executive director of BCSP. He works closely with the faculty on strategy and manages the BCSP team. Prior to joining BCSP, Imran served as CEO of the British Science Association and as head of public engagement for Wellcome, the world’s third-largest philanthropic foundation. He has a BA in biology from the University of Oxford, a MSc in science communication from Imperial College London, and a MBA from Bayes Business School. Imran lives on a floating home and spends his free time trail running, rock climbing, gaming, enjoying science fiction, and trying to make the perfect daal.

Professor Daniela Kaufer is a faculty member in Integrative Biology and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and she is the associate dean of biological sciences at UC Berkeley. Kaufer explores stress and resilience in the human brain and animal models. She investigates how psychedelics could alleviate stress-related disorders, aiming to unravel the intricate interactions between stress and the brain’s neurobiology. www.kauferlab.com

Professor Michael Silver is in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, and he also serves as the faculty director of the BCSP. Silver is overseeing UC Berkeley’s inaugural human subjects research studies on psilocybin, investigating both the immediate and enduring impacts of psychedelics on human visual perception and cognition and their neural substrates. He and his team endeavor to deepen our understanding of how the human brain constructs representations of the environment and how these representations are influenced by cognitive processes such as attention, expectation, and learning. https://argentum.ucbso.berkeley.edu/

Professor Noah Whiteman is in the departments of Integrative Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology. Work in the Whiteman laboratory explores the intricate evolutionary relationships among plants, fungi, and animals and seeks to answer why and how psychedelics came to be. Whiteman’s research sheds light on the evolutionary forces that led to the emergence of psychoactive compounds in nature, providing fascinating insights into the natural history of these substances. https://whitemanlab.org/

Please join us as we look forward to the future of psychedelic research.

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