Auckland Neuro- Psycho- Pharmacology Research Group

Members of the ANRG lab have been spotted in the wild on the streets of London! Off to exchange some science with other labs and attend conferences, and hopefully get some adventures in there too 🙌

📢 Participants Wanted for Women's Brain Health Research

Do you have a regular menstrual cycle?

Researchers at AUT and the University of Auckland are investigating how brain function changes across different phases of the menstrual cycle. Participation involves EEG (brain activity) recordings, blood samples, questionnaires, and a low dose of psilocybin across multiple study visits to our Clinical Research Centre. Compensation will be provided for your time and involvement.

You may be eligible if you:

- Are aged 18–46 years
- Have a regular menstrual cycle
- Are not using hormonal contraception
- Have mild to no PMS symptoms
- Are willing to take the study drug
- Are available for at least 4 study visits


To find out more and complete the pre-screening questionnaire, scan the QR code or use the link below:

https://redcap.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/surveys/?s=L9FTDYNEPWTCD384


Please feel free to share this post with anyone who may be interested!

If you have any other questions, please email us at [email protected] or text us on: 027 204 6170


This study is approved by HDEC (2025 FULL 23149) and SCOTT (2025 SCOTT 23215) ethics committees.

We are extremely proud of our Research Fellow, Dr. Hannah Douglass, who has just graduated with her PhD at Imperial College London. Her thesis was titled: The Therapeutic Potential and Mechanisms of Action of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in Anorexia Nervosa Treatment. We are very lucky that she has chosen to join our lab and lead the new PMDD project!! PMDD Aotearoa

Menstrual Health Week 2026 is officially underway at University of Auckland!

We’re so excited to have a PMDD Aotearoa stand and the opportunity to introduce more people to PMDD and the impact it can have on daily life.

Our new flyers are out in the world for their very first public event, alongside some fantastic information sheets helping raise awareness of a condition that is still too often misunderstood or overlooked.

It’s been fantastic seeing so many conversations happening around menstrual health, awareness, education, and support — and we’re only halfway through the week!

A huge thank you to the organisers of Menstrual Health Week and to everyone who has stopped by the stand to chat, ask questions, or learn more. These conversations matter. 🩸✨🧠

The fantastic Dr Rachael Sumner will be speaking next week during Menstrual Health Week 2026 at University of Auckland!

Her talk, “The brain on reproductive steroids: mental health and premenstrual dysphoric disorder”, will explore the critical role hormones such as progesterone and oestradiol play in brain health for all people.

She will also discuss what happens in the brain for those living with PMDD — a severe menstrual cycle-related mood disorder that remains widely misunderstood and under-recognised.

Dr Sumner will be presenting as part of the Menstrual Health Matters Symposium on Thursday 28 May.

Conversations like these are vital. Greater awareness and understanding of PMDD can help reduce stigma, improve recognition, and support earlier access to care for those affected.

A huge thank you to everyone helping bring menstrual health into the spotlight this week. 🩸🧠✨

Cheers RNZ for hosting our PI Prof. Suresh Muthukumaraswamy to discuss why the interest in psychedelic medicines

Why psychedelics are back on the medical research table Eighty-three years after the first L*D trip, psychedelics are again being explored for their potential therapeutic benefits.

Carina also looked into how treatment expectations differ in psychedelic therapies compared to other treatments, and how these expectations may shape outcomes:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028390825003788?via%3Dihub

Our PhD student, Carina Donegan, has recently published her work analysing the participant interviews in our microdosing trial, to find out "What it is like to microdose L*D for depression"! Read more here:

What is it like to microdose L*D for depression? a thematic analysis of participant interviews from an open-label trial - Carina Joy Donegan, Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Rachael L. Sumner, Anna Forsyth, Will Evans, Nicholas R. Hoeh, Frederick... Background: Depressive disorders affect approximately 280 million globally, with many finding treatments ineffective or limited by side effects. Growing evidenc...

Working again with his international collaborations, Dimitri has also published a review on the treatment of neuropathic pain with ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew originating in the Amazon basin!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949834124000436