AZA Allsop
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About
Titles
Assistant Professor
NRTP, Yale Department of PsychiatryBiography
AZA Allsop is an artist, neuroscientist, and psychiatrist who conducts research at the intersection of social cognition, music mindfulness, and psychedelics. His research and clinical work is guided by the belief that decoding these tools will provide a better understanding of how social groups function and offer insights into treating mental suffering and enhancing the evolution of society at large. AZA studied Biology, Philosophy, and Jazz Studies at North Carolina Central University, received his MD from Harvard Medical School, PhD in Neuroscience from MIT and was an Emerson Scholar at Berklee College of Music. He completed his residency in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University where he served as co-chief resident of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit and is currently an Assistant Professor in Yale’s Department of Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Collective Healing at Howard University. He teaches meditation, yoga, and music and co-founded Renaissance Entertainment and Mefreely, companies that combine music, science, and community building to drive social change.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Research
Publications
2023
Changes in synaptic markers after administration of ketamine or psychedelics: a systematic scoping review
Zhornitsky S, Oliva H, Jayne L, Allsop A, Kaye A, Potenza M, Angarita G. Changes in synaptic markers after administration of ketamine or psychedelics: a systematic scoping review. Frontiers In Psychiatry 2023, 14: 1197890. PMID: 37435405, PMCID: PMC10331617, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1197890.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsAdministration of ketamineSynaptic markersSubstance use disordersPrefrontal cortexSingle doseBasal conditionsStress-related reductionPsilocybin/psilocinVerbal memory performanceWeb of ScienceKetamine treatmentSystematic scoping reviewLysergic acid diethylamideSynaptic densityClinical studiesSynaptophysin 1PRISMA guidelinesSynapsin 1Use disordersPlace preferenceAbuse liabilitySynaptic changesKetaminePSD-95Study design
2022
Stepping Out of the Palace of Luxury: Mindfulness and Modern Psychiatry
Allsop AS, Chaudhry HW, Novick AM, Ross DA. Stepping Out of the Palace of Luxury: Mindfulness and Modern Psychiatry. Biological Psychiatry 2022, 92: e5-e7. PMID: 35772908, PMCID: PMC9516782, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.05.015.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2021
Understanding the Role of a Molecularly Defined Social Circuit
Pruitt A, Allsop AS. Understanding the Role of a Molecularly Defined Social Circuit. Biological Psychiatry 2021, 89: 421-423. PMID: 33541524, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.12.017.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDecriminalising being Black with mental illness
Jordan A, Allsop AS, Collins PY. Decriminalising being Black with mental illness. The Lancet Psychiatry 2021, 8: 8-9. PMID: 33341173, DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30519-8.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2019
Sequential Detection of Regime Changes in Neural Data
Banerjee T, Allsop S, Tye K, Ba D, Tarokh V. Sequential Detection of Regime Changes in Neural Data. 2019, 00: 139-142. DOI: 10.1109/ner.2019.8716926.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2018
Corticoamygdala Transfer of Socially Derived Information Gates Observational Learning
Allsop S, Wichmann R, Mills F, Burgos-Robles A, Chang C, Felix-Ortiz A, Vienne A, Beyeler A, Izadmehr E, Glober G, Cum M, Stergiadou J, Anandalingam K, Farris K, Namburi P, Leppla C, Weddington J, Nieh E, Smith A, Ba D, Brown E, Tye K. Corticoamygdala Transfer of Socially Derived Information Gates Observational Learning. Cell 2018, 173: 1329-1342.e18. PMID: 29731170, PMCID: PMC6345560, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.04.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAnterior cingulate cortexObservational fear conditioningFear conditioningBasolateral amygdalaThreat-predictive stimuliAssociative fear conditioningImpaired acquisitionAversive cuesCingulate cortexPredictive cuesDemonstrator mouseCue informationAversive valueObservational learningCuesElectrophysiological recordingsRouting of informationAmygdalaCortexMiceStimuliPunishmentSurvival toolInhibitionEstimating a Separably Markov Random Field from Binary Observations
Zhang Y, Malem-Shinitski N, Allsop S, Tye K, Ba D. Estimating a Separably Markov Random Field from Binary Observations. Neural Computation 2018, 30: 1046-1079. PMID: 29381446, DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01059.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNeural spiking dataMarkov random fieldLimitation of current methodsLoss of informationSpike dataNeural spikesConditional intensity functionRandom fieldState sequenceRF modelLearning of fearLearningTrial-to-trial dynamicsConditioned stimulusEstimate state-space modelsNeuronsPrefrontal cortexNeural underpinningsAssociative learningBinary observationsComputational toolsNeural activityIntensity functionTrialsCurrent methods
2017
Endocannabinoid Signaling in the Control of Social Behavior
Wei D, Allsop S, Tye K, Piomelli D. Endocannabinoid Signaling in the Control of Social Behavior. Trends In Neurosciences 2017, 40: 385-396. PMID: 28554687, PMCID: PMC5699224, DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2017.04.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSocial behaviorEndocannabinoid signalingG-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptorsEndocannabinoid signaling systemComplex social groupsSocial anxietySocial impairmentNeural basisSocial rewardsCannabinoid receptorsNeural processesEndocannabinoidAnimal modelsEmergent insightsAnxietyRewardBehaviorSocial groupsImpairmentBrainSignaling systemAgonistsMammalian speciesReceptors
2015
Biologic Activity of Autologous, Granulocyte–Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Secreting Alveolar Soft-Part Sarcoma and Clear Cell Sarcoma Vaccines
Goldberg J, Fisher D, Demetri G, Neuberg D, Allsop S, Fonseca C, Nakazaki Y, Nemer D, Raut C, George S, Morgan J, Wagner A, Freeman G, Ritz J, Lezcano C, Mihm M, Canning C, Hodi F, Dranoff G. Biologic Activity of Autologous, Granulocyte–Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Secreting Alveolar Soft-Part Sarcoma and Clear Cell Sarcoma Vaccines. Clinical Cancer Research 2015, 21: 3178-3186. PMID: 25805798, PMCID: PMC4506240, DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-14-2932.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAlveolar soft part sarcomaClear cell sarcomaGranulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factorColony-stimulating factorSoft part sarcomaTissue-type plasminogen activatorMicrophthalmia transcription factorGM-CSFReplication-defective adenoviral vector encoding GM-CSFSecrete granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factorCCS patientsImmune-mediated tumor destructionT-cell-mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity reactionCD8(+) T cellsAdenoviral-mediated gene transferPhase I clinical trialDelayed-type hypersensitivity reactionAutologous tumor cellsPD-ligand 1Sarcoma cellsNo tumor regressionRare mesenchymal malignancySingle-cell suspensionsTumor regressionMetastatic tumorsDecoding Neural Circuits that Control Compulsive Sucrose Seeking
Nieh E, Matthews G, Allsop S, Presbrey K, Leppla C, Wichmann R, Neve R, Wildes C, Tye K. Decoding Neural Circuits that Control Compulsive Sucrose Seeking. Cell 2015, 161: 1468-1471. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.05.037.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Links & Media
News
- April 29, 2024
Allsop Recipient of First Renée Fleming NeuroArts Investigator Award
- August 16, 2023Source: The Wall Street Journal
Scientists Reconstructed a Pink Floyd Song From Brain Activity
- July 19, 2023
2023 Residents, Fellows Honored at Annual Commencement Ceremonies
- June 07, 2023Source: The Wall Street Journal
The Science Behind Sound Therapy