Dea S. Stenbæk has been awarded a prestigious Sapere Aude Starting Grant, worth 4.431.907 DKK, from the Independent Research Fund Denmark (IFRD) for her 4-year project "Unlocking the doors of perception: Impact of music on acute and lasting effects of psilocybin in depressed patients". We congratulate Dea with the highly prestigious grant and look very much forward to hosting her project at NRU!
Serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) stimulation with the psychedelic compound psilocybin is emerging as a promising treatment for depression. In current best-practice guidelines, music is considered an integral component of the psychedelic setting. However, this is mostly based on qualitative, correlational or otherwise indirect data since no study has tested directly the effects of music in antidepressant psychedelic treatment. The aim of this randomized, placebo-controlled study is therefore to evaluate effects of music on: 1) levels of anxiety and psychological insight during the acute psilocybin experience, 2) persisting and antidepressant effects of psilocybin and 3) the placebo response. The proposed study is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Neurobiology Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Rigshospitalet, and Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen. Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, is international collaborator in the study.