Dissociating the Hallucinogenic and Neuroplastic Effects of Psilocybin.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology June 18, 2026 Jacob J. Baker, Emily Kogan, Shaorong Ma et al.
It is unclear how serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT 2A Rs) in cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons (L5 PyrNs) differentially contribute to psilocybin-induced hallucinations versus neuroplasticity. Here we show that psilocybin promotes synapse formation and maturation while accelerating the elimination of pre-existing synapses. Cell type-specific manipulation further demonstrated that 5-HT 2A R...