Cybin has announced key highlights from its study evaluating Kernel’s Flow wearable technology to measure ketamine’s psychedelic effect on cerebral cortex hemodynamics.
The company has stated that the study supports earlier findings and demonstrates that Kernel Flow provides a functional measure of blood oxygenation changes in the brain associated with neural activity.
Cybin CEO, Doug Drysdale, commented: “The results from the feasibility study are very promising and provide further insights into the potential of this cutting-edge wearable technology to quantify neural activity and changes in brain biomarkers during the administration of psychedelics.
“The possibility of using this technology to develop a predictive tool to aid in identifying appropriate candidates for psychedelic-based therapy is also quite exciting, as is the convenience of a portable device, which could lend itself to more widespread use in clinical settings.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on expanding our scientific understanding of the effects and mechanisms of action of psychedelics on the brain – all with the ultimate goal of developing safe and effective treatments for a range of mental health conditions.”
Study findings
Cybin has stated that the study provided important proof-of-principle for Kernel Flow as a portable functional system that provides real-time measurements of blood oxygenation changes in the brain associated with neural activity using Time Domain Near Infrared Spectroscopy (TD-fNIRS).
Demonstrated ketamine-induced changes to functional brain biomarkers associated with potential therapeutic effects were found, including alterations in cortical function associated with psychedelic experiences.
It also showed that ketamine led to a brain-wide reduction in the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and a decrease in the global brain connectivity of the prefrontal region compared to saline. It has been suggested that fALFF is of particular functional importance within the default mode network, which has been shown to be modulated by psychedelics and is associated with a range of neuropsychiatric conditions.
A model combining neural and physiological metrics successfully predicted mystical experience scores on Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire, which has been shown in previous research to mediate reductions in depressive symptomatology.
Demonstrated reliable physiological measurements of pulse rate (PR) and pulse rate variability (PRV) extracted from TD-fNIRS recordings that match those obtained from commercial external photoplethysmography sensors, thus rendering the use of external sensors to measure cardiac activity unnecessary in future experiments.
Ketamine led to increased PR, decreased PRV, increased absolute concentrations of oxy-hemoglobin and decreased deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations, and elevated electrodermal activity (measured by an external sensor), providing further physiological measures of the effects of the ketamine doses administered in the study.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kernel, Bryan Johnson, stated: “This study can be regarded as an important step toward larger-scale clinical studies using Kernel Flow to quantify the impact of psychedelics, or other neuroactive substances and central nervous system drugs, on the brain.
“The feasibility study demonstrated the successful application of the portable Kernel Flow neuroimaging system to measure effects of the psychoactive substance ketamine on brain hemodynamics and provided preliminary evidence that a combination of neural and physiological metrics can track subjective mystical experiences.”
Cybin says that results from the study are intended to inform the future pathway for this programme.
