PsiFUND v1.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Probing the functional magnetic resonance imaging response to psilocybin in functional neurological disorder
IRAS ID
317689
Contact name
Tim Nicholson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a common cause of severe neurological symptoms such as limb paralysis, tremor, and seizures. Rather than being due to damage to the nervous system, FND occurs due problems with the way the brain sends signals to the body. Brain scans have shown altered connections between parts of the brains of people with FND.
Psychedelics such as psilocybin have been shown to be safe in several brain disorders ranging from headache disorders to depression. Research has indicated that psychedelics can ‘reset’ the connections in the brain which are altered in FND.We will conduct a brain scan trial in people with FND who are given psilocybin. The study will help us to understand how the connections within the brains of people with FND are altered by psilocybin. To do this, participants will have MRI scans before and after psilocybin administration. They will also be asked to complete questionnaires and complete other tasks which can give us clues about how FND might arise, such as monitoring their own heart rate. The study will take place at the Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at King's College London. Participants will be in the study for around 12 weeks and the study in total will last around two years.
This study will help us to understand more about the brains of people with FND. It will help us work out whether brain networks we think are involved in FND can be disrupted by medications. We will also be able to see if this disruption in brain networks is associated with other markers of FND, such as impaired control and awareness of the body (known as agency and interoception, respectively).
REC name
Wales REC 2
REC reference
23/WA/0213
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion