Brain Predictors
Supporting Mental Health Drug Development
With Computer Simulations of Brain Dynamics
GOALS
We will use computational neuroscience – computer simulations of brains – to predict the beneficial effects of mind-altering, sometimes called “psychedelic” compounds on mental health.
Our predictions will inform drug manufacturers, clinicians, and patients alike.
WHAT WE EXPLAIN
Recent years have seen a resurgence of the interest in psychedelic, mind-altering compounds like psilocybin and LSD, as tools for interventions in mental health crises.
While these approaches are very promising for the treatment of a variety of conditions like depression or PTSD, they generally operate with somewhat of a “black-box” approach: the psychedelics help patients, but it is not certain why and how.
We aim to be very specific in our predictions about the influence of well-known psychedelics like psilocybin on mental health.
Using computer simulations, we want to understand the mechanisms and dynamics of psychedelic action in human brains, healthy and those with mental health issues.
Specifically, we want to answer, how psychedelic therapy interacts with:
- Day/night differences in brain activity
- Different behavioral states: calm wakefulness/rest, active states, socially challenging situations
- Acute relapses versus controlled states of mental health problems
- Alcohol and nicotine
- Other psychiatric medications
- Developmental changes: puberty, old age, dementias
And what are its:
- Long-term effects, side effects
- Habituation and needed dosage changes
OUR APPROACH
In brief: We simulate what is going on in the brain and use these simulations to inform which psychedelics patients should take when, and in what doses,
More technically: We use multi-level modeling, the technique to simulate brain dynamics by taking into account processes on different spatial scales (neurotransmitter receptors, brain cells, brain regions, the whole brain) and temporal scales (neurotransmitter action at a fraction of a second to developmental changes happening over years).
In subsequent future steps, we aim to use non-linear time series analysis for the analysis of patient EEG, and natural language analysis, for the analysis of patient verbal output to further fine-tune our therapeutic predictions and recommendations.
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
We realize that while our plans are potentially very useful for the advanced treatment of mental health conditions, they are not very easy to understand for the layperson. We plan to make an intensive effort to explain our insights in a way accessible to non-experts.
CONCRETE RECOMMENDATIONS
Our goal is to provide concrete, individualized recommendations for the use of psychedelics in mental health treatments.
This will include advice on doses, daily pharmacological regiments, drug intervention based on behavioral and relapse-related states, as well as long-term dose management.
SUBSTANCES
We will initially focus our efforts at understanding the detailed workings of two substances:
Psilocybin and Salvinorin A.
Psilocybin is the main active compound in psychoactive mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe (“magic mushrooms”), and has been used for centuries in meso-American cultures.
Many of the modern approaches to psychedelic therapy revolve around the use of Psilocybin, and a detailed, quantitative understanding of its actions will be one of our steppingstones into the world of psychedelic medicine.
Salvinorin A is the active compound in the mint-like plant Salvia divinorum. It is a unique, non-classical psychedelic acting on completely different receptor system than Psilocybin, LSD and related compounds.
One of us (K.M.S.) has published an impactful paper on the action of Salvinorin A, and a detailed understanding of the way it changes brain dynamics will set us apart from any possible competitors.
TEAM
Dr. Klaus M. Stiefel
Founder, Computational Neuroscientist
Scientist, Neurolinx Institute
Chief Marine Scientist, BlueNomads.Org
Scientific Advisors:
Bard Ermentrout, PhD
Distinguished University Professor
Department of Mathematics,
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Jörg Birkenfeld
CSO, Perspix Biotech
Jay S. Coggan, PhD
Scientist, Blue Brain Project
Founder, Neurolinx Institute
Dr. Arthur Flexer
Senior Researcher
Institute of Computational Perception
Johannes Kepler University, Linz
FEASIBILITY
All the technologies necessary for our plans are well-developed and available, and we have decades of experience in computational neuroscience. The thing to do now is to put the pieces together for their specific practical applications in mental health care.
This startup impresses with a high effect to cost ratio: Significant improvements in patient care will be possible with a primarily software-based approach (no wet-lab or hardware-development necessary!).
CONTACT
Dr. Klaus M. Stiefel
klaus@neurolinx.org
REFERENCES
Stiefel, K. M. Is the key to consciousness in the claustrum? The Conversation, 2014