Explore the neurobiology of AN and the newest research on deep brain stimulation and psilocybin as possible treatments with Dr Rebecca Park.
Dr Rebecca Park
rebecca.park@psych.ox.ac.uk
Dr Rebecca Park is the head of the OxBread Research group, an Associate Professor in Eating Disorders Psychiatry in Oxford and a Visiting Professor in Imperial College London. Her research focuses on the neurobiology and psychology of eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa (AN). Currently there are no pharmacological approaches to this disorder, only psychological and behavioural. Therefore, Dr Park is working on developing new treatment strategies for AN.
This year she published a pilot study on deep brain stimulation as a possible treatment for severe AN. The nucleus accumbens was the target, due to its role in hedonic pleasure and reward learning. The research group found that the treatment responders where the patients who had childhood OCD before they developed early adolescent AN. Whereas, it did not work on those who had developed later onset AN and had no OCD prior to that. This opens many interesting questions about future research.
Not only this, but Dr Park is also working with the Centre for Psychedelic Studies in Imperial College London to study psilocybin (a psychodelic drug) as another possible treatment.