bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
August 25, 2026
Roberto de Filippo, Ryan Gillis, David G Wyrick et al.
preprint
Abstract Psilocybin profoundly alters visual perception, yet the neuronal mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Here we combined large-scale Neuropixels recordings with cell-type-specific optogenetics in head-fixed mice performing a visual change-detection task. Psilocybin severely impaired task performance without overt motor deficits. In cortex, the drug modestly suppressed...
bioRxiv
August 19, 2026
D. Momi, Y. Nahas, D. Wyrick et al.
preprint
Psilocybin produces rapid and lasting therapeutic effects, yet how 5-HT2A receptor activation reshapes brain-wide circuit dynamics during acute drug administration remains poorly understood. Using simultaneous multi-region Neuropixels recordings of 46,360 single units from 35 mice, together with scalp electroencephalography (EEG), pupillometry, and locomotion monitoring, we provide a...
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
January 15, 2024
Dietmar Schmitz, Roberto De Filippo
13 citations
Psychedelic agents, such as LSD and psilocybin, induce marked alterations in consciousness via activation of the 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2ARs). We hypothesize that psychedelics enforce a state of synthetic surprise through the biased activation of the 5-HTRs system. This idea is informed by recent insights into the role of 5-HT in signaling surprise. The effects on consciousness, explained by the...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
May 26, 2020
Roberto De Filippo, Benjamin R. Rost, Alexander Stumpf et al.
1 citation
preprint
Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the major neuromodulators present in the mammalian brain and has been shown to play a role in multiple physiological processes. The mechanisms by which 5-HT modulates cortical network activity, however, are not yet fully understood. We investigated the effects of 5-HT on slow oscillations (SOs), a synchronized cortical network activity universally present across...