Prof. Vidita Vaidya while delivering the CSIR Foundation Day Lecture
Prof. Vidita Vaidya, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, delivered the CSIR Foundation Day Lecture at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune, on the topic “Serotonergic Psychedelics: A revival” on 29 September 2022.
Prof. Vidita Vaidya shared an aspect of the work done in collaboration in the field of Serotonergic Psychedelics. She introduced the audience to psychedelics, talking about how serotonergic psychedelics came into use thousands of years ago. There was possible use of compounds that eventually produce Serotonergic Psychedelics, and people were consuming them. These compounds were derived from plants, mushrooms, etc., and invoked psychedelics. Humans have been consuming psychoactive compounds as long as they have been eating things. She showed evidence that people were consuming psychoactives for as long as they have been grinding out foods and eating them. She covered drugs, the history of psychedelics, psychoactive foods, psychedelic substances, and their effects on the human brain through specific biochemical pathways.
Prof. Vaidya said that psychedelics' powerful substances like coffee, tea, chocolate, etc., can potentially treat many diseases which are like drugs that alter cognitive processes and produce hallucinogenic effects. In ancient times mushrooms were used as a therapeutic agent. The psychoactive plants were categorised according to cultural affiliation and psychoactive uses like hallucinogen, stimulant, anxiolytic, antidepressants, sedative, analgesics, and aphrodisiac. She gave an overview of psychedelic substances; psilocybin and ketamine profoundly affect neurotransmission and act on various molecular targets. Psilocybin activates 5-HT2A receptors; ketamine blocks subset of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors on GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) interneuron, which in turn disinhibits pyramidal cells and that exerts stimulatory effect on neurons.
Prof. Vaidya explained the psychedelics, stigma, and counter-culture. Psychedelics have a history rich in stigmatization and misunderstanding. Most psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down behaviour and information processing models. But in the last decades, there has been a renaissance in psychedelic science, and people are coming out to support these substances containing treatments for mental illness problems. Prof. Vaidya talked about DOI (2,5–Dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine psychedelic drug, psychedelic and hallucinogens, anxiety, psychedelics and mitochondria, the activity of the enzymes in 2-AG biosynthesis or signalling, and their influence on humans.
Earlier, Dr Ashish Lele, Director, CSIR-NCL, gave the welcome remarks and threw light upon the history of the CSIR. He informed about the key strengths of the CSIR, diversity, and geographical presence across the country. This decade is of critical importance to India and the planet as a whole. Entrepreneurship and innovation, tech start-ups, sustainability, self-reliance, digitalisation and virtualisation, decentralisation, and global supply chains are indeed some of the megatrends that are going to shape the science and technology landscape in this decade for India.
On the occasion, NCL Research Foundation Awards for Scientists, Staff, and Research Scholars for 2020-21 were also presented at the hands of the Chief Guest.
