Abstract Oregon (OR) and Colorado (CO) were the first states to enact regulations for provision of psilocybin with support of licensed ‘facilitators.’ As more states and countries adopt similar policies, informed public policy decisions require that client characteristics and rationale for using psilocybin, psilocybin dosing practices, mental health outcomes, and adverse events are understood....
The head-twitch response (HTR) is widely used as a preclinical assay for the hallucinogenic potential of compounds, with its utility based on 5HT 2A R activation. Here, we examine how the polypharmacological agonists lisuride and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) influence behavioral and physiological outcomes in mice to test whether the HTR reliably reflects overall psychoactivity. Lisuride...
The psychedelic psilocybin has shown therapeutic potential, yet underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated the impact of psilocin-the active metabolite of psilocybin-on basal activity and reactivity within the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) and PVT projections to central amygdala (CeA) in rats. Psilocin administration increased PVT c-Fos expression and...
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Microdosing, the prolonged ingestion of psychedelics at subhallucinogenic doses, has gained popularity for its perceived cognitive and emotional benefits. Psychedelics have high affinity for 5-HT 2B receptors, a receptor known to cause human heart disease with strong chronic activation. We investigated the effects of microdosed psychedelics on...
Psychedelics have experienced renewed interest following positive clinical effects, however the neurobiological mechanisms underlying effects remain unclear. The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) plays an integral role in stress response, autonomic function, social behavior, and other affective processes. We investigated the effect of psilocin, the psychoactive metabolite of...
Psilocybin and its active metabolite psilocin have been shown to elicit rapid and long-lasting symptom improvements in a variety of affective psychiatric illnesses. However, the region-specific alterations underlying these therapeutic effects remain relatively unknown. The central amygdala (CeA) is a primary output region within the extended amygdala that is dysregulated in affective...