Speaker Bio
Professor Suresh Sundram is the Head, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University and Director of Research, Mental Health Program, Monash Health. Professor Suresh Sundram is the Head, Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University and Director of Research, Mental Health Program, Monash Health.
He has been investigating the molecular pathology of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders using pharmacological, neurochemical and neuropathological approaches. These inter-related methods have been applied to parse components of the disorder such as treatment resistance and suicide to better understand their neurobiological substrates. He undertook his doctoral and post-doctoral studies at the Mental Health Research Institute in Melbourne before establishing his laboratory there and subsequently at the Florey Institute and concurrently establishing a clinical research laboratory undertaking clinical trial and biomarker research in psychotic disorders. He then transferred to, and integrated his research program at Monash University and Monash Medical Centre. Together, this has permitted rapid and seamless translational research between molecular and clinical approaches. The work has resulted in more than 150 published scientific articles, books, book chapters and conference abstracts. He has presented as plenary and invited speaker at international and national conferences, served as deputy editor for the Asian Journal of Psychiatry and is an advisor to the UN, national and state governments.
ICPR 2024 Abstract
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder: examining the role of expectations, masking rates, and ‘placebo’ responding in a world-first randomised controlled trial
In the context of persistent challenges in blinding psychedelic trials, this talk will present new data on expectancies, mask rates, and placebo responding within a world-first, randomised triple-blind trial investigating psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
In this trial, 72 participants were randomly assigned to receive two doses of psilocybin (25mg to 30mg) or an active placebo (diphenhydramine, 75mg to 100mg) during nine psychotherapy sessions.
The association between pre-treatment expectations (of benefit or harm) and post-treatment safety and efficacy outcomes will be presented.
The rationale for the selection of an active-placebo in this clinical trial, and of blinding assessments, will be described (alongside other alternatives). Using an updated measure, masking rates of both participants and therapists will be reported as confidence ratings, alongside the discernible signs contributing most reliably to unmasking. The role of prior psychedelic experience and other baseline variables in masking rates with be described.
Cases associated with substantial benefit following placebo dosing will be presented, alongside an analytical exploration of potential explanations for these outcomes.
This talk will outline viable alternatives to placebo-controlled designs, alongside various approaches, prospects and challenges inherent in blinding placebo-controlled psychedelic trials. The importance of transparent reporting of blinding success and participant expectancies will be underscored, towards advancing the rigour, interpretability and generalizability of findings within the rapidly evolving field of clinical psychedelics.