bioRxiv
August 20, 2026
Ilknur Kayikcioglu Bozkir, Ryan Lashin, Tiecheng Liu et al.
preprint
Psilocybin is a psychedelic which has been shown to induce neural plasticity through activation of intracellular serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors. It also produces brain-wide changes in structural and functional connectivity and holds promise as a therapeutic compound for treating anxiety and depression. Despite links between psilocybin-induced plasticity, the psychedelic experience, and reduction...
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
April 1, 2026
Emma R. Huels, S. Smith, Tiecheng Liu et al.
Objectives/Goals: We recently showed that a single dose of psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, attenuated mechanical hypersensitivity for up to 28 days in a rat model of formalin-induced chronic centralized pain. The goal of this study is to determine whether psilocybin can alleviate chronic pain in a rat model of reserpine-induced chronic centralized pain. Methods/Study Population: Adult...
Journal of Neuroscience
December 19, 2025
Nicolas G. Glynos, Emma R. Huels, Trent Groenhout et al.
11 citations
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic that is being investigated for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Although the neurophysiological effects of DMT in humans are well characterized, similar studies in animal models and data on the neurochemical effects of DMT are generally lacking, which are critical for a mechanistic understanding. Here, we combined behavioral...
Translational Psychiatry
March 25, 2025
Brian H Silverstein, Nicholas Kolbman, Amanda Nelson et al.
8 citations
Psilocybin produces an altered state of consciousness in humans and is associated with complex spatiotemporal changes in cortical networks. Given the emphasis on rodent models for mechanistic studies, there is a need for characterization of the effect of psilocybin on cortex-wide network dynamics. Previous electroencephalographic studies of psychedelics in rodents have primarily used sparse...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
January 22, 2025
Emma R. Huels, Nicholas Kolbman, Christopher W Fields et al.
4 citations
preprint
Serotonergic psychedelics enhance neurophysiological complexity and the repertoire of brain states, whereas general anesthetics produce opposite effects. Serotonergic psychedelics are also known to increase wakefulness and reduce sleep time in rodents. Therefore, we hypothesized that 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodopamphetamine (DOI), a serotonergic psychedelic, will reverse general anesthesia and restore...
Physiology
May 1, 2024
Rachel Summerfield, Trent Groenhout, Tiecheng Liu et al.
Psychedelics, including N, N, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), are being increasingly explored for therapeutic potential to treat psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These and other psychiatric conditions have a bidirectional relationship with sleep patterns but the impact of psychedelics, particularly DMT, on sleep architecture is incompletely...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
February 12, 2024
Brian H Silverstein, Nicholas Kolbman, Amanda Nelson et al.
3 citations
preprint
Abstract Psilocybin produces an altered state of consciousness in humans and is associated with complex spatiotemporal changes in brain networks. Given the emphasis on rodent models for mechanistic studies, there is a need for characterization of the effect of psilocybin on brain-wide network dynamics. Previous rodent studies of psychedelics, using electroencephalogram, have primarily been done...
Current Biology
December 1, 2023
Nicholas Kolbman, Tiecheng Liu, Peter R. Guzzo et al.
21 citations
There is a renewed interest in psychedelic drugs as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In particular, psilocybin has shown promise for the treatment of refractory depression1 and major depressive disorder2, and has also been explored as a treatment for tobacco and alcohol abuse3,4. However, despite suggestive evidence5,6, there has been no systematic study...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
August 28, 2023
Nicholas Kolbman, Tiecheng Liu, Peter R. Guzzo et al.
preprint
Abstract There is a renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, including psilocybin, in treating mental health disorders. However, there are no data on the efficacy of psilocybin in alleviating chronic pain. In this study, we investigated the effect of psilocybin on mechanical hypersensitivity and thermal hyperalgesia in a rat model of formalin-induced chronic pain. Adult...
Anesthesia and analgesia
June 1, 2022
Michael A. Brito, Duan Li, Christopher W Fields et al.
Neurophysiologic complexity has been shown to decrease during states characterized by a depressed level of consciousness, such as sleep or anesthesia. Conversely, neurophysiologic complexity is increased during exposure to serotonergic psychedelics or subanesthetic doses of dissociative anesthetics. However, the neurochemical substrates underlying changes in neurophysiologic complexity are...
Scientific Reports
June 27, 2019
Jon G Dean, Tiecheng Liu, Sean Huff et al.
111 citations
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a psychedelic compound identified endogenously in mammals, is biosynthesized by aromatic-L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) and indolethylamine-N-methyltransferase (INMT). Whether DMT is biosynthesized in the mammalian brain is unknown. We investigated brain expression of INMT transcript in rats and humans, co-expression of INMT and AADC mRNA in rat brain and...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
August 27, 2013
Jimo Borjigin, UnCheol Lee, Tiecheng Liu et al.
The brain is assumed to be hypoactive during cardiac arrest. However, the neurophysiological state of the brain immediately following cardiac arrest has not been systematically investigated. In this study, we performed continuous electroencephalography in rats undergoing experimental cardiac arrest and analyzed changes in power density, coherence, directed connectivity, and cross-frequency...