CPU
Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit
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Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit

We study what drugs do to the mind, and how they can change it

Approach
We conduct laboratory studies and clinical trials with healthy volunteers, clinical and sub clinical populations using dissociatives, entactogens, and classic psychedelics.
Conditions
Our research spans PTSD, addiction, and healthy volunteer populations, with a focus on understanding how drugs affect mind and the brain, generating psychopharmacological evidence for NHS and clinical practice.
Now running

Active studies

05 active
01PsilocybinPsychedelic PreparationRecruiting
02Nitrous OxidePost-Traumatic Stress DisorderIn preparation · Starts Q3 2026
03DMTRegular Alcohol DrinkersRecruiting04MDMAUnderstanding MDMA-assisted psychotherapyRecruiting05Brain StimulationTraumatic MemoriesRecruiting
Latest paper · European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Development and validation of a short-form (6-item) version of the clinician-administered dissociative states scale (CADSS-SF)
Taujanskaite, Kamboj · 2026→ Read open access
OUR FOUNDER
Val founded the CPU in 1996 while running the first empirical study on people using MDMA, setting up a laboratory in a Kings Cross rave club. Her research spans the short- and long-term effects of psychoactive drugs on mental health, cognition and the brain, shaping the CPU's direction of travel ever since.
Prof. Val Curran
FOUNDER · CPU
UCL · 1–19 Torrington Place · London WC1E 7HB© 2026 University College London