Behavioral and genetic analysis of the effects of the psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) in C. elegans.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology May 23, 2025 Amanda M. White, Adele D. Bauer, Serge Faumont et al. preprint
The psychedelic compound DOI strongly inhibits feeding in the roundworm C. elegans, even though effects on locomotion, swimming, and egg-laying were undetectable. This feeding suppression occurred independently of serotonin receptors, indicating that DOI may act through alternative molecular pathways. The findings suggest that C. elegans can serve as a cost-effective, genetically tractable model for studying psychedelic drug mechanisms, potentially revealing novel targets beyond the serotonergic system that could inform therapeutic applications for depression, PTSD, and substance use disorder.