Overview

The Neuropsychopharmacology unit conducts pioneering research into the impact of drugs on the brain, with a view to better understanding brain functions and developing new treatments for psychiatric disorders. 

A key aspect of our work led by Professors David Nutt and Anne Lingford-Hughes is related to neuroimaging with PET and fMRI to understand the neuropharmacology of substance misuse and addiction. We have major funding from the MRC to study new approaches to the treatment of addiction to alcohol, heroin, cocaine and tobacco. These studies explore how the brain may be dysregulated to underpin addiction using neuroimaging. We use PET scanning to identify alterations in essential receptors e.g. for GABA, opioid, and dopamine systems as well for estimating the release of endogenous neurotransmitters such as dopamine and endorphins.

We use fMRI to explore brain mechanisms and have developed an experimental platform to investigate new approaches to treatment through assessing the impact of drug challenges on fMRI measures of brain activation during a range of tasks such as reward, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation. We are also moving into the new field of testing if drugs that affect appetite hormones and their receptors can be of use in regulating the brain mechanisms that lead to relapse to addiction (see PsychoNeuroEndocrinology research group). We have also used PET and MRI to explore the impact of neuroinflammation and amyloid deposition in alcoholism. In recent years, we have set up a group to explore the modes of action of psychedelic drugs on brain activity and connectivity and have performed some of the first human neuroscience studies ever with LSD and psilocybin (see Centre for Psychedelic Research).

We also develop new PET ligands (for example, we have the world’s first radiotracer for astrocytes), and develop new pharmacological approaches to release endogenous neurotransmitters (e.g. the use of amphetamine to induce endogenous opioid release). We also have longstanding expertise in EEG. We use these approaches to explore the effects of drugs on brain function in disease states and in matched control participants.

Key collaborators

Our key collaborators include the experimental fMRI platform - ICCAM with the Universities of Cambridge and Manchester to study drugs for relapse prevention in addictions. We also work closely with the PET teams in Imanova the London-based research facility. Some of our PET radiotracer development is done in collaboration with Yale University USA and our psychedelic research is conducted with UCL.

In addition, Professor Thomas Barnes’ research in schizophrenia has focused on its drug treatment and antipsychotic side effects, particularly movement disorders, though his interests and research also cover its phenomenology and neuropsychology and associated substance use.