Webinar: Neuroplasticity and Psychedelics (Presented by Wondermed)

“Neuroplasticity and Psychedelics” is a live webinar event brought to you by Wondermed and Neuly. It was held on Monday, January 15th at 2:30pm ET.

During this conversation, experts weighed in on how ketamine and other psychedelic medicines impacted the mind.

Matt Zemon, MSc, an Educator, Author, and Leader in Psychedelic Wellness, specializes in the impact of psychedelics on mental health. Author of the best-selling Psychedelics for Everyone and the preparation and integration journal Beyond the Trip, he holds a Master’s degree from King’s College London. Matt combines academic insights with a passion for safe and sacred psychedelic use, focusing on broadening understanding and access to these transformative substances. Additionally, he consults with medical practitioners in psychedelic therapy, contributing his expertise to further the responsible integration of psychedelics in healthcare.

Lauren Swanson is a board-certified physician assistant with extensive experience in psychiatry, family practice, and urgent care. She earned her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from The University of Southern California and will graduate with her Doctorate of Medical Science in Psychiatry in 2024. Additionally, she holds a Certificate in Psychopharmacology from the Neuroscience Education Institute. Originally from Norman, OK, she moved west after earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Physiology from Oklahoma State University. Lauren was drawn to a career in medicine through her sincere desire to help people. She is passionate about working closely with patients to promote comprehensive well-being and guide them to live their healthiest potential. From her experience treating patients with ketamine, as well as training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and trauma-informed care, she is well-versed in this progressive and unique practice. She has years of experience diagnosing and treating a multitude of mental health disorders. It is her great pleasure to support patients on their journey to improved mental health.

Dr. Taylor Kuhn is an Assistant Research Neuroscientist in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. He is a clinical neuropsychologist with a broad interest in sciences which bridge the gap between neuropsychology and neuroimaging to investigate relationships between brain structure and function across neurodegenerative disorders, neuromedical illnesses, healthy aging, and intellectual giftedness. His experimental expertise includes structural and functional MRI, non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, machine learning analyses, and experimental as well as traditional neuropsychological approaches. He has a growing record of over 50 publications in the field of neuropsychology and neuroimaging, with an emphasis on exploring network connectivity (e.g. diffusion imaging) underlying cognitive and emotional functioning. He serves as the study coordinator for both Lifespan Human Connectome Projects at UCLA. More recently, his independent research has expanded to include neuromodulation techniques, such as transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS), as a non-invasive method for improving cognitive performance and emotion regulation. His lab is the first to implement tFUS in humans for modulation of learning, memory, and emotional regulation and has combined tFUS with multimodal MRI to validate its ability to increase regional brain perfusion, modulate functional connectivity, and associated behavioral and psychophysiological outcomes.

Dr. Kuhn received his Doctoral Degree in Psychology from the University of Florida and completed his internship at the Boston Consortium for Clinical Psychology, with fellowships at Harvard and Boston University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA where he was both chief research and assistant chief clinical fellow. Dr. Kuhn also spends part of his time providing neurocognitive and psychodiagnostic assessment along with managed care to adults with a broad array of neurological and psychiatric concerns. Dr. Kuhn is the recipient of the Greiffenstein-Kaplan Research Award from the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology and the Phillip M. Rennick Research Award from the International Neuropsychological Society.