Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior - The Consciousness Library

Psychedelics and the thalamocortical system: A scoping review

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior July 9, 2026 Sofía Villalba, Agustín Martínez Christensen, Lucia di Costanzo et al.

In recent years, psychedelics have shown promising results as therapeutic interventions for individuals with depression, terminal illnesses, substance use disorder, neurodegenerative diseases, trauma and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Moreover, research involving psychedelics have contributed to the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms behind the "psychedelic state of consciousness"...

DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2026.174232 Serotonin Thalamus Pathological Clinical practice +2

Rapid antidepressant-like effect of non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog lisuride, but not hallucinogenic psychedelic DOI, in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior December 5, 2022 Youge Qu, Lijia Chang, Li Ma et al. 42 citations

Classical psychedelics with 5-hydroxytryptamine-2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonism have rapid antidepressant actions in patients with depression. However, there is an ongoing debate over the role of 5-HT2AR in the antidepressant-like actions of psychedelics. In this study, we compared the effects of DOI (2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine: a hallucinogenic psychedelic drug with potent 5-HT2AR agonism),...

DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173500 Serotonergic Ketamine Serotonin Lisuride +6

Use and abuse of dissociative and psychedelic drugs in adolescence

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior January 27, 2021 M.l. Shawn Bates, Keith A Trujillo 57 citations

Adolescence is a period of profound developmental changes, which run the gamut from behavioral and neural to physiological and hormonal. It is also a time at which there is an increased propensity to engage in risk-taking and impulsive behaviors like drug use. This review examines the human and preclinical literature on adolescent drug use and its consequences, with a focus on dissociatives...

DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173129 MDMA Psilocybin Addiction Hallucinogen +4

Serotonergic and dopaminergic distinctions in the behavioral pharmacology of (±)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior December 15, 2011 Emmanuelle A. D. Schindler, Kuldip D. Dave, Elaine M. Smolock et al. 18 citations

RationaleAfter decades of social stigma, hallucinogens have reappeared in the clinical literature demonstrating unique benefits in medicine. The precise behavioral pharmacology of these compounds remains unclear, however.ObjectivesTwo commonly studied hallucinogens, (±)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), were investigated both in vivo and...

DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.12.002 Lysergic acid diethylamide Serotonergic Serotonin Ritanserin +7

Agonist Properties of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine at Serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C Receptors

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior November 1, 1998 Roger Smith 142 citations

Extensive behavioral and biochemical evidence suggests an agonist role at the 5-HT2A receptor, and perhaps the 5-HT2C receptor, in the mechanism of action of hallucinogenic drugs. However the published in vitro pharmacological properties of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an hallucinogenic tryptamine analog, are not consistent with this hypothesis. We, therefore, undertook an extensive...

DOI: 10.1016/s0091-3057(98)00110-5 Serotonin Ketanserin Pharmacology Endogenous agonist +7

Effects of intraocular mescaline and LSD on visual-evoked responses in the rat

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 1989 Janis T. Eells, Douglas M. Wilkison 10 citations

The effects of mescaline and LSD on the flash-evoked cortical potential (FEP) were determined in unrestrained rats with chronically-implanted electrodes. Systemic administration of mescaline or LSD significantly attenuated the primary component of the FEP at three stimulus intensities with the greatest effect observed 60-90 minutes following drug administration. The magnitude and specificity of...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(89)90232-3 Mescaline Lysergic acid diethylamide Serotonin Psilocybin +7

Behavioral effects of intracerebroventricular administration of LSD, DOM, mescaline or lisuride

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior August 1, 1984 David J. Mokler, Richard H. Rech 17 citations

The effects on a fixed ratio-40 (FR-40) operant behavior of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of the hallucinogens lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), mescaline or the non-hallucinogenic LSD-analogue lisuride were compared with intraperitoneal (IP) administration. Infusion of LSD (8.5 to 34 micrograms) into the left lateral ventricle produced a...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(84)90227-2 Mescaline Lysergic acid diethylamide Lisuride Ed50 +4

The effects of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), pentobarbital and methaqualone on punished responding in control and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine-treated rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior May 1, 1981 Randall L. Commissaris, William H. Lyness, Richard H. Rech 29 citations

The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of central 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neuronal systems in the effects of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2,5-methoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), pentobarbital (PB) and methaqualone (MQ) on punished responding in rats. Water-deprived rats were trained to drink from a tube that was electrified at intervals (variable interval 21 sec;...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(81)90121-0 Psilocybin Lysergic acid diethylamide Serotonin Hallucinogen +4

Naloxone potentiates the disruptive effects of mescaline on operant responding in the rat

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior October 1, 1980 Randall L. Commissaris, K.E. Moore, Richard H. Rech 8 citations

Food-deprived male rats were trained to press a lever on a fixed ratio-40 (FR-40) operant schedule for food reinforcement. Administration of mescaline (4.0--10.0 mg/kg) immediately before the start of the operant session resulted in a cessation of responding for some portion of the 40-min period ("hallucinatory pause"). The duration of this pause was found to be dose-dependent. Although...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(80)90289-0 Mescaline +-naloxone Pharmacology Antagonist +5

Mescaline increases startle responding equally in normal and raphe-lesioned rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior February 1, 1979 Mark A. Geyer, Gary J. Rose, Lyle R. Petersen 7 citations

To test the possible involvement of serotonin-containing cells of the midbrain in mediating the effects of mescaline on startle responding, electrolytic lesions were made in either the dorsal or median raphe nucleus in rats. Decreases in either striatal or hippocampal tryptophan hydroxylase activity confirmed the effectiveness of the lesions. One week later, startle was measured in response to...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(79)90103-5 Mescaline Serotonin Dorsal raphe nucleus Raphe nuclei +4

Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeODMT) on shock elicited fighting in rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior July 1, 1978 James K. Walters, Michael H. Sheard, Michael T. Davis 18 citations

Rats were tested for shock elicited fighting under various doses of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (0.12, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 4.0, 8.0 mg/kg) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (0.06, 0.12, 0.5, 2.0 mg/kg). Both drugs produced an inhibition of fighting at higher doses but no significant effects at lower doses. The effects of these drugs on shock elicited fighting, as well as on other behaviors, thus...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(78)90016-3 Lysergic acid diethylamide Serotonin Hallucinogen Pharmacology +1

Mescaline produces pathological aggression in rats regardless of age or strain

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior May 1, 1978 Robert J. Sbordone, Joseph A. Wingard, Mark L. Elliott et al. 12 citations

Several measures of aggressive behavior were investigated in three ages (40-50, 90-110, and 180-200 days old) and in three strains (Sprague-Dawley, Wistar, and Long-Evans) of rats before and following the administration of mescaline hydrochloride in a shock-elicited aggression situation. The measures included the number of fights, duration of fighting, latency of fighting, number of bites...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(78)90385-4 Mescaline Aggression Pathological Biting +1

Pharmacological and behavioral components of tolerance to LSD and mescaline in rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior September 1, 1977 Thomas F. Murray, Arthur L. Craigmill, Guenther Fischer 11 citations

A fixed-ratio schedule of water reinforcement (FR-10) was used to examine the relative contributions of pharmacological and behavioral mechanisms in the development of tolerance to the disruptive effects of LSD and mescaline in the rat. Rats treated daily with LSD or mescaline before operant testing developed tolerance to the impairement of responding, while rats treated daily after each...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(77)90140-x Mescaline Lysergic acid diethylamide Reinforcement Drug tolerance +3

Behavioral sensitivity to LSD: Dependency upon the pattern of central 5HT depletion

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior May 1, 1977 James A. Joseph, James B. Appel 18 citations

Two experiments were carried out using a fixed ratio (FR) schedule of water reinforcement to determine the efficacy of two serotonin (5HT) depleting agents (p-chloroamphetamine, 5, 7-dihydroxytryptamine) in altering sensitivity to a low dose of LSD (0.02 MG/KG). The results showed that while both p-chloroamphetamine (PCA) and 5, 7 dihydroxytryptamine (5, 7 DHT) were efficacious in reducing...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(77)90108-3 Serotonin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine 5-HT Receptor P-chloroamphetamine +3

Psilocybin: Biphasic dose-response effects on the acoustic startle reflex in the rat

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior April 1, 1977 Michael T. Davis, James K. Walters 26 citations

The startle reflex was measured in 7 groups of 10 rats each after intraperitoneal injection of saline or 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 or 8.0 mg/kg psilocybin. Low doses (0.75-2.0 mg/kg) increased startle amplitude whereas high doses (4.0-8.0 mg/kg) depressed startle. Selected low (0.71 mg/kg) or high (5.70 mg/kg) doses of psilocin also had a biphasic dose-response effect on startle...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(77)90180-0 Psilocybin Startle response Moro reflex Hallucinogen +6

Comparison of the discriminative stimulus properties of Δ9-THC and psilocybin in rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior September 1, 1975 Isaac Greenberg, D. M. Kuhn, James B. Appel 17 citations

Male albino rats were trained to respond differentially on the left or right lever in a 2-lever chamber on the basis of which drug had been given intra-peritoneally (IP) 30 min before experimentation. In 1 group 1.9 mg/kg of delta9-THC and control injections (vehicle) served as the discriminative stimuli associated with each lever and in another group the drug stimuli were 1.0 mg/kg of...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90131-8 Psilocybin Stimulus control Lever Discriminative model +5

Mescaline treated rats attack immobile targets

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior September 1, 1975 Brooks Carder, Robert J. Sbordone 8 citations

Rats were exposed to a series of targets in a shock induced aggression situation. Control rats fought most with moving targets, such as another normal rat, and did not attack immobile targets, such as a dead rat or a rat model. Rats treated with 15 mg mescaline/kg showed a similar pattern of target control though they bit frequently while controls did not bite. Rats treated with 50 mg/kg...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90129-x Mescaline Biting Pharmacology Aggression +1

Role of serotonin in the discriminative stimulus properties of mescaline

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior May 1, 1975 Ronald G. Browne, Beng T. Ho 51 citations

Rats were trained to discriminate intraperitoneally administered mescaline from saline in a two-lever operant chamber for food reinforcement. Reward was contingent upon responses made greater than 15 sec apart (DRL-15) on the appropriate lever paired with either drug or saline administration. Following the establishment of discriminative response control by mescaline, the animals were tested...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90052-0 Mescaline Serotonergic Methysergide Stimulus control +9

Discriminative stimulus properties of mescaline: Mescaline or metabolite?

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 1975 Ronald G. Browne, Beng T. Ho 10 citations

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible similarities in the interoceptive stimuli produced by mescaline and its metabolites. Rats were trained in a 2 lever operant chamber to discriminate between the drugged state (mescaline 25 mg/kg) and the nondrugged state (saline). Following acquisition of discriminative response control the rats were pretreated with either saline, aldehyde...

DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90088-x Mescaline Metabolite Aldehyde dehydrogenase Saline +2

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