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Argel Aguilar-Valles

7 papers in the library · 613 citations · publishing 2020-2026

Papers

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Sex differences in placebo and antidepressant response to intranasal esketamine for treatment-resistant depression

Molecular Psychiatry February 18, 2026 Marie Huc, Sara Siddiqi, Mysa Myers et al. 1 citation

Esketamine has emerged as a fast-acting antidepressant option for individuals with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Yet, little is known about how sex-assigned-at-birth shapes symptom-specific responses to these interventions, a critical gap in the move toward precision psychiatry. To address this gap, we conducted a pooled analysis of five randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled...

Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelics and their Non-Hallucinogenic Analogs on Depressive-Like Behaviour

Carleton undergraduate journal of science. September 2, 2025 Kaylee Reid, Dhiral Kot, Argel Aguilar-Valles

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex and debilitating condition affecting approximately 280 million people worldwide. Its heterogeneous nature makes it difficult to establish clinical treatment guidelines that address individual differences in treatment response. As a result, many individuals experience treatment-resistant depression (TRD) failing to respond to first-line...

The ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine rescues hippocampal mRNA translation, synaptic plasticity and memory in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association August 1, 2024 Felipe C Ribeiro, Danielle Cozachenco, Elentina K Argyrousi et al.

Impaired brain protein synthesis, synaptic plasticity, and memory are major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) has been shown to modulate protein synthesis, but its effects on memory in AD models remain elusive. We investigated the effects of HNK on hippocampal protein synthesis, long-term potentiation (LTP), and memory in AD mouse...

Beyond the 5-HT2A Receptor: Classic and Nonclassic Targets in Psychedelic Drug Action.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience November 8, 2023 Lindsay P. Cameron, Joseph Benetatos, Vern Lewis et al. 88 citations

Serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, have garnered significant attention in recent years for their potential therapeutic effects and unique mechanisms of action. These compounds exert their primary effects through activating serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, found predominantly in cortical regions. By interacting with these receptors, serotonergic psychedelics induce alterations in...

A non-hallucinogenic LSD analog with therapeutic potential for mood disorders.

Cell Reports March 28, 2023 Vern Lewis, Emma M. Bonniwell, Janelle K. Lanham et al. 129 citations

Hallucinations limit widespread therapeutic use of psychedelics as rapidly acting antidepressants. Here we profiled the non-hallucinogenic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) analog 2-bromo-LSD (2-Br-LSD) at more than 33 aminergic G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). 2-Br-LSD shows partial agonism at several aminergic GPCRs, including 5-HT2A, and does not induce the head-twitch response (HTR) in...

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) promotes social behavior through mTORC1 in the excitatory neurotransmission

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 25, 2021 Danilo de Gregorio, Jelena Popić, Justine P. Enns et al. 137 citations

Clinical studies have reported that the psychedelic lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) enhances empathy and social behavior (SB) in humans, but its mechanism of action remains elusive. Using a multidisciplinary approach including in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, behavioral paradigms, and molecular biology, the effects of LSD on SB and glutamatergic neurotransmission in the medial...

Hallucinogens in Mental Health: Preclinical and Clinical Studies on LSD, Psilocybin, MDMA, and Ketamine

Journal of Neuroscience November 30, 2020 Danilo de Gregorio, Argel Aguilar-Valles, Katrin H. Preller et al. 258 citations

A revamped interest in the study of hallucinogens has recently emerged, especially with regard to their potential application in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In the last decade, a plethora of preclinical and clinical studies have confirmed the efficacy of ketamine in the treatment of depression. More recently, emerging evidence has pointed out the potential therapeutic properties of...