Biological Psychiatry
July 7, 2025
Cory B Langreck, Briana K Chen, Victor M Luna et al.
9 citations
Contradictory evidence has emerged regarding the role of the mu opioid receptor (MOR) in the antidepressant actions of (R,S)-ketamine. Here, we used the long-acting MOR-selective antagonist methocinnamox (MCAM) to determine the contribution of MOR to the actions of (R,S)-ketamine and the more selective N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist fluoroethylnormemantine (FENM) against...
Nature Communications
September 20, 2024
Václav Havel, Andrew C Kruegel, Benjamin Bechand et al.
18 citations
Ibogaine and its main metabolite noribogaine provide important molecular prototypes for markedly different treatment of substance use disorders and co-morbid mental health illnesses. However, these compounds present a cardiac safety risk and a highly complex molecular mechanism. We introduce a class of iboga alkaloids - termed oxa-iboga - defined as benzofuran-containing iboga analogs and...
Journal of the American Chemical Society
April 10, 2024
Wei-Li Lee, Xavier Westergaard, Christopher Hwu et al.
18 citations
The serotonergic transmitter system plays fundamental roles in the nervous system in neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, pathological processes, and therapeutic effects of antidepressants and psychedelics, as well as in the gastrointestinal and circulatory systems. We introduce a novel small molecule fluorescent agent, termed SERTlight, that specifically labels serotonergic neuronal cell...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
July 23, 2021
Václav Havel, Andrew C Kruegel, Benjamin Bechand et al.
3 citations
preprint
Abstract Substance use and related mental health epidemics are causing increasing suffering and death in diverse communities. 1,2 Despite extensive efforts focused on developing pharmacotherapies for treating substance use disorders, there is an urgent need for radically different therapeutic approaches. 3,4 Ibogaine provides an important drug prototype in this direction, as a psychoactive...