Introduction: Oxycodone is a necessary analgesic medication but carries abuse potential. There is an urgent need to develop therapeutics to reduce abuse potential. Psychedelic compounds may be a viable option, but the behavioral and pharmacological mechanism of action is undefined. Methods: Male and female Sprague–Dawley rats were implanted with indwelling jugular catheters and allowed to...
Overdose fatalities involving cocaine continue to rise with over 5.3 million cocaine users reported in the United States in 2022. The abuse liability of cocaine is reliant upon inhibition of dopamine (DA) reuptake and consequent increase in DA efflux in meso-corticolimbic circuitry that controls reward and motivation. Cocaine also increases serotonin (5-HT) efflux which is integral in cocaine...
Background: Overdose deaths remain high for opioid use disorder, emphasizing the need to pursue innovative therapeutics. Classic psychedelic drugs that engage many monoamine receptors mitigate opioid use. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the preferential serotonin 5-HT2AR agonist, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) could reduce the demand for fentanyl in a preclinical model of fentanyl...