psilocybin

Investigating the Neurobiology and Neurophysiology of Psilocybin Using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model System

Influence of the context of administration in the antidepressant-like effects of the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT

Psychedelics like psilocybin have shown rapid and long-lasting efficacy on depressive and anxiety symptoms. Other psychedelics with shorter half-lives, such as DMT and 5-MeO-DMT, have also shown promising preliminary outcomes in major depression, making them interesting candidates for clinical practice. Despite several promising clinical studies, the influence of the context on therapeutic responses or adverse effects remains poorly documented. To address this, we conducted preclinical studies evaluating the psychopharmacological profile of 5-MeO-DMT in contexts previously validated in mice as either pleasant (positive setting) or aversive (negative setting). Healthy C57BL/6J male mice received a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 5-MeO-DMT at doses of 0.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg, with assessments at 2 hours, 24 hours, and one week post-administration. In a corticosterone (CORT) mouse model of depression, 5-MeO-DMT was administered in different settings, and behavioral tests mimicking core symptoms of depression and anxiety were conducted. In CORT-exposed mice, an acute dose of 0.5 mg/kg administered in a neutral setting produced antidepressant-like effects at 24 hours, as observed by reduced immobility time in the Tail Suspension Test (TST). In a positive setting, the drug also reduced latency to first immobility and total immobility time in the TST. However, these beneficial effects were negated in a negative setting, where 5-MeO-DMT failed to produce antidepressant-like effects and instead elicited an anxiogenic response in the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM).Our results indicate a strong influence of setting on the psychopharmacological profile of 5-MeO-DMT. Future experiments will examine cortical markers of pre- and post-synaptic density to correlate neuroplasticity changes with the behavioral effects of 5-MeO-DMT in different settings.

Psychedelics and the Pharmacology of Consciousness

The study of altered states of consciousness has long had the potential to provide important insight into the nature of consciousness. In recent years there has been a resurgence of research and public interest in atypical or altered states of consciousness. These have focused both on conditions in which consciousness is considered to be impaired due to brain trauma or enhanced in some way through mediation practices or ingestion of psychedelics. The talk will begin with a brief overview of recent scientific approaches to understanding these different types of altered consciousness. The remainder of the talk will focus on lab-based experiments conducted by myself and others looking at the effects of serotoninergic hallucinogens (i.e. psilocybin and LSD) on perceptual and cognitive function. Together this body of research provides important new insights for the scientific study of consciousness and an initial understanding of the neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying conscious experience.

Exploring the effects of psilocybin and ketamine (novel antidepressants) on the electroencephalogram (EEG) of C57BL/6 mice: A comparative analysis

FENS Forum 2024

COMP360 psilocybin increases high gamma and decreases low theta and delta power and coherence within and between prefrontal cortex and dorsal hippocampus of urethane-anaesthetised rats

COMP360 psilocybin restores reward learning impairments in rats caused by chronic interferon-alpha treatment

Dosing the Trip: dose-response antagonist-controlled study of persistent psilocybin effects on affective behavior and functional connectivity

Effects of psilocybin on activity-based anorexia and cognitive flexibility in female rats

Whole-brain cFos mapping of psilocybin effects in the mouse

Acute behavioral and neuronal effects from psilocybin and ketamine in mice

FENS Forum 2024

Exploring the effects of psilocybin and ketamine (novel antidepressants) on the electroencephalogram (EEG) of C57BL/6 mice: A comparative analysis

FENS Forum 2024

A multiple Arc tagging system to investigate the effect of psilocybin on fear memory extinction

FENS Forum 2024