Neurons to Nirvana screening – June 23rd in Amsterdam
Watch the trailer of this documentary here.
Book your tickets (€10) now by mailing rsvp@stichtingopen.nl
Events
Lecture University of Groningen: The comeback of psychedelic science
At Monday May 18th, there will be a lecture by Joost Breeksema, the president of OPEN, at the University of Groningen. This lecture is organized by the English lecture committee of student society VIP (Psychology University of Groningen), in collaboration with the OPEN Foundation.
VIP created a Facebook event with more information on this lecture.
THE COMEBACK OF PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE
Discussing the therapeutic and mystical potential of psychedelics
When LSD was discovered in 1943, it was initially seen as a tool to mimic and understand psychosis. In the following years, psychedelics would be regarded as valuable instruments that could provide insight into otherwise inaccessible realms of the human mind. Pioneering Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof thought that ‘psychedelics, used responsibly and with proper caution, would be for psychiatry what the microscope is for medicine or the telescope for astronomy.’ Shortly after, however, psychedelics and related research were outlawed.
Recently a ‘psychedelic renaissance’ took off, ushering in a whole new phase of scientific investigation. Can psilocybin really help people overcome their fear of death? How does MDMA interact with the brain to heal heavily traumatized patients? Can psychedelics be used to treat addiction? And what role do mystical experiences play in all this?
In this lecture Joost Breeksema discusses past, present and future research directions, the latest scientific results and whether we really need science to understand the potential that psychedelic experiences offer.
This lecture will be in English
Symposium about psychedelic research at Utrecht University
On Thursday May 7th there will be a symposium on academic research with psychedelic drugs at Utrecht University. This symposium is organized by the student society Brainwave (Neuroscience Utrecht University), in collaboration with the OPEN Foundation.
Speakers:
Leon Kenemans – Professor Psychopharmacology Utrecht University.
Mendel Kaelen – PhD student Imperial College London and board member OPEN Foundation.
Joost Breeksema – President OPEN Foundation and harm reduction expert.
Barbara van Zwieten-Boot – College ter Beoordeling van Geneesmiddelen (Medicines Evaluation Board).
Leon Kenemans will open the symposium by providing a general overview of the brain mechanisms of various psychoactive drugs. Following this, Joost Breeksema will introduce the topic of psychedelic drugs, and argue for the relevance of modern research with psychedelics. Subsequently, Mendel Kaelen will talk about the brain mechanisms of psychedelics on the basis of recent research at Imperial College London. There he studies the brain mechanisms of LSD and the effects of LSD on music perception. Next, Barbara van Zwieten-Boot, will talk about the potential risks of medicines. Finally, there will be discussion between the speakers with the possibility for questions by the audience.
Brainwave created a Facebook event at which people can register themselves for this symposium. People without a Facebook account can register here.
The language of the symposium will be part English and part Dutch. Mendel Kaelen and Joost Breeksema will speak English. Leon Kenemans and Barbara van Zwieten-Boot will speak in Dutch.
World Ayahuasca Conference 2014
Het laatste decennium is de belangstelling voor ayahuasca wereldwijd ontzettend toegenomen. Tot haar “recente” ontdekking door de westerse wereld in 1851 bleef ayahuasca, in Zuid-Amerika ook bekend als “la grande medicina”, verborgen in de dichte begroeiing van het Amazonewoud.
Anno 2014 is de wetenschappelijke belangstelling voor ayahuasca niet louter meer een zaak van etnografen en plantkundigen. Meer en meer is het middel de aandacht gaan trekken van allerlei wetenschappers die de effecten, risico’s en therapeutische mogelijkheden ervan willen bestuderen. Deze beweging klinkt als een verre echo van de vroege jaren ’60, toen onderzoek naar psychedelische middelen als LSD op volle toeren draaide, omdat men vermoedde dat ze konden helpen bij een heilzame verkenning van de geest.
Waarom nu? Ayahuasca wordt veel gebruikt als sacrament binnen Santo Daime en União do Vegetal, twee Braziliaanse religieuze bewegingen. Toen vele kerkleden zich in de VS en Europa gingen vestigen begon de kennis over de plant zich in het collectieve bewustzijn te verspreiden – zelfs Sting had het tegenover Rolling Stone Magazine over zijn ervaringen. Vele mensen beschouwen de plant niet als een recreatieve drug, maar als een serieuze en heilige meesterplant. Vanzelfsprekend is samen met de publieke bewustwording ook de belangstelling van wetenschappers toegenomen.
In september aanstaande wil de World Ayahuasca Conference in Ibiza (Spanje) de discussie stimuleren over de rol van de plant in de wetenschap, geneeskunde, therapie en cultuur door vooraanstaande wetenschappers, farmacologen, antropologen, sjamanen en juridische experts samen te brengen. Op het congres zullen ook belangrijke juridische, ethische en duurzaamheidsvraagstukken aan bod komen die verband houden met ayahuasca.
Onder andere sprekers zullen aanwezig zijn: Dennis McKenna, die al meer dan 40 jaar lang medicinale planten bestudeert, Glenn H. Shepard Jr., etnobotanist, medisch antropoloog en filmmaker, en Anya Loizaga-Velder, klinisch psycholoog, die het therapeutisch potentieel van psychedelische planten onderzoekt. De workshops gaan onder andere over het meest recente wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar ayahuasca, het traditionele en religieuze gebruik ervan, de impact van de globalisering op de consumptie van ayahuasca, en over de rol van vrouwen in de wereld van ayahuasca.
Aangezien het gebruik van ayahuasca blijft groeien is een dergelijke multidisciplinaire dialoog noodzakelijk. Vele mensen gebruiken ayahuasca om hun spirituele horizon te verbreden, anderen om depressie en verslaving te bestrijden. Hoewel verder gedetailleerd klinisch onderzoek naar ayahuasca nodig is en er al heel wat op til staat, is het duidelijk dat de populariteit van en de wetenschappelijke belangstelling voor ayahuasca ons veel vertellen over het aanzienlijke potentieel dat deze plant lijkt te hebben voor de genezing van lichaam, geest en ziel.
Klik hier voor meer informatie over de World Ayahuasca Conference.
Lecture VU Amsterdam: Psychedelica als medicijn?
OPEN organizes a lecture about the potential medicinal and therapeutic values of psychedelic substances at the VU University on Monday February 3rd. Can ibogaine or other substances help to get rid of an addiction or psychological disorders?
Joost Breeksema, the president of OPEN, will open this lecture with an overview of recent and historical research into the therapeutic applications of psychedelics. After that, Maarten Belgers and Thomas Knuijver, both physicians specialized in addiction, will talk about ibogaine and their research into this substance. What is the scientific knowledge about ibogaine until now, why do they want to research this substance, and what does this study look like? There are only 150 seats available, so if you want to ensure yourself of a ticket please arrive early. Ticket sales will start at 15:30.
Practical information:
Where: Vrije Universiteit. Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam.
When: Monday February 3rd 2014. From 16:00 until 18:00.
Price: Members VSPVU: €3 / Others: €4,50
Please note that this lecture will be in Dutch.
Lecture: Psilocybin in the treatment of end-of-life anxiety
Dr. Grob will come all the way from Los Angeles to give a lecture on his research into psilocybin, the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’. The main focus of this lecture will be the investigation into the safety and efficacy of psilocybin as a therapeutic aid in the treatment of severe anxiety in adult patients with advanced-stage cancer. Research into substances such as MDMA and ayahuasca, also investigated at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, will be addressed as well. There will be ample time for questions and discussion. Students, health care professionals and therapists are encouraged to attend.
Dr. Charles Grob is professor in Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA, Los Angeles (USA). He has published extensively on topics such as substance misuse and the history of hallucinogens in psychiatry. He performed the first FDA approved study of the physiological and psychological effects of MDMA; a multi-national study of ayahuasca in Brazil and has performed a pilot investigation of the safety and efficacy of psilocybin in the treatment of anxiety in adult patients with advanced-stage cancer.
The lecture will take place on Friday 14 June, from 16:00 – 18:00.
LOCATION: CREA (Muziekzaal), Nieuwe Achtergracht 170 Amsterdam.
FEE: €5,- regular / students & alumni get in for free
Labyrint TV special about therapy with psychedelics
Next week on Wetenschap24 Labyrint TV reports on groundbreaking research into the use of psychedelics for the treatment of psychological disorders.
The episode was filmed at the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research 2012 and takes you from the first scientific research into psychedelics in the ’50s, the recreational use and the prohibition of these substances, to the recent research into psychedelics as potential tools for psychotherapy. Amongst others, the British psychopharmacologists Robin Carhart–Harris and Matthew Johnson, both speakers at ICPR 2012, will appear in this episode. They will speak about their research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.
Next Wednesday, December 19th, 8:50pm at Nederland 2.
More information on the Labyrint TV website.
Article in university magazine Folia about psychedelic research
University magazine Folia devoted an article to psychedelic research. The cover is entirely dedicated to the article ‘Trippen op recept’ (Tripping on prescription). Visitors of the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research will recognize the interviewed experts. Ben Sessa talks about his experience in an fMRI scanner when he participated in a study into the effects of psilocybin on the brain. Robin Carhart-Harris, a researchers at Imperial College London, talks about initial findings of this study. Matthew Johnson, psychopharmacologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (United States) is interviewed as well. He talks about his research into the use of psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction.
You can find the Folia magazine at various locations at the University of Amsterdam. You can also find it digitally on the Folia website.
ICPR 2012 draws attention to psychedelic research
On October 6 & 7 OPEN’s second international conference took place in Amsterdam: the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research. In a sold out Mozeskerk over 400 researchers, students, therapists and scholars gathered to listen and discuss the latest psychedelic research. From brain imaging studies on psilocybin, philosophical discussions on the meaning of altered states of consciousness to a debate on the place of MDMA in psychotherapy, ICPR set the standard for future events.
Research into psychedelics is slowly being taken seriously in the Netherlands. Dutch science program Labyrint recorded interviews and shot the conference for an episode on psychedelic research. Articles on the conference in Dutch national newspapers Volkskrant (6 Oct. ’12) and Parool (13 Oct. ’12) can be clicked and read here (only in Dutch). Photos of the conference can be found here and videos of the conference are being edited and will be put on our website soon.
EARS researcher workgroup
In April 2011, over 300 people convened at the University of Amsterdam to attend the European Ayahuasca Research Symposium, a half-day seminar co-sponsored by The OPEN Foundation and MAPS.
The Symposium brought together researchers from across Europe who over the last few years have been studying ayahuasca and DMT within the disciplines of anthropology, neuroscience, psychology and religious studies. The next morning, the presenters from the seminar were joined by other European ayahuasca scholars for a closed-door researcher workgroup intended to stimulate future ayahuasca research and possible collaborations in Europe. The workgroup succeeded in building a shared knowledge base of ongoing and planned ayahuasca research, in facilitating discussions on methodology and obtaining institutional approvals for research, and in developing personal and professional contacts among the few ayahuasca researchers currently based in Europe.