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bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

209 papers in the library · 590 citations · publishing 2015-2026

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The psychedelic, DOI, increases dopamine release in nucleus accumbens to predictable rewards and reward cues

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) March 31, 2024 David Martin, Á.v. Delgado, Donna J. Calu preprint

Abstract Psychedelics produce lasting therapeutic responses in neuropsychiatric diseases suggesting they may disrupt entrenched associations and catalyze learning. Here, we examine psychedelic effects on dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core, a region extensively linked to reward learning, motivation, and drug-seeking. We measure phasic dopamine transients following acute...

Assessing the effects of an 8-week mindfulness training program on neural oscillations and self-reports during meditation practice

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) February 13, 2024 Julio Rodriguez-Larios, Kian Foong Wong, Julian Lim 2 citations preprint

Abstract Previous literature suggests that mindfulness meditation can have positive effects on mental health, however, its mechanisms of action are still unclear. In this pre-registered study, we investigate the effects of mindfulness training on lapses of attention (and their associated neural correlates) during meditation practice. For this purpose, we recorded Electroencephalogram (EEG)...

Psilocybin induces dose-dependent changes in functional network organization in rat cortex

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) February 12, 2024 Brian H Silverstein, Nicholas Kolbman, Amanda Nelson et al. 3 citations preprint

Abstract Psilocybin produces an altered state of consciousness in humans and is associated with complex spatiotemporal changes in brain networks. Given the emphasis on rodent models for mechanistic studies, there is a need for characterization of the effect of psilocybin on brain-wide network dynamics. Previous rodent studies of psychedelics, using electroencephalogram, have primarily been done...

Psilocybin biphasically modulates cortical and behavioral activity in mice

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) January 20, 2024 Adam T. Brockett, Nikolas A. Francis 1 citation preprint

SUMMARY Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic believed to have therapeutic potential for neuropsychiatric conditions. Despite well-documented prevalence of perceptual alterations, hallucinations, and synesthesia associated with psychedelic experiences, little is known about how psilocybin affects sensory cortex or alters the activity of neurons in awake animals. To investigate, we conducted...

Psilocybin Promotes Cell-Type-Specific Changes in the Orbitofrontal Cortex Revealed by Single-Nucleus RNA-seq

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) January 7, 2024 Ziran Huang, Xiaoyan Wei, Xiaobin Wang et al. 3 citations preprint

Abstract Recent clinical breakthroughs hold great promise for the application of psilocybin in the treatments of psychological disorders, such as depression, addiction, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psilocybin is a psychedelic whose metabolite, psilocin, is a 5-HT 2A receptor agonist. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms for the effects of psilocybin on the brain are not fully...

Behavioural Investigations of Psilocybin in Animals 1962-2021: A Scoping Review

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) January 5, 2024 Ron Shore, K. Dobson, Nina Thomson et al. 3 citations preprint

Abstract Background and Aims Psilocybin is a psychedelic drug that may hold promise for a wide range of human health conditions, yet the identification of therapeutic processes and mechanisms of action remains exploratory. We conducted a scoping review on pre-clinical behavioural investigations of psilocybin in non-human animals to help determine the behavioural effects of psilocybin in...

Psilocybin prevents activity-based anorexia in female rats by enhancing cognitive flexibility: contributions from 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor mechanisms

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 13, 2023 Kyna‐anne Conn, Lk Milton, Kaixin Huang et al. 6 citations preprint

Abstract Psilocybin has shown promise for alleviating symptoms of depression and is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN), a condition that is characterised by persistent cognitive inflexibility. Considering that enhanced cognitive flexibility after psilocybin treatment is reported to occur in individuals with depression, it is plausible that psilocybin could...

Revisiting Alpha Resting State Dynamics Underlying Hallucinatory Vulnerability: Insights from Hidden Semi-Markov Modeling

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 12, 2023 Hanna Honcamp, Michael Schwartze, Maria Amorim et al. preprint

Abstract Resting state (RS) brain activity is inherently non-stationary. Hidden Semi-Markov Models (HsMM) can characterize the continuous RS data as a sequence of recurring and distinct brain states along with their spatio-temporal dynamics. Recent explorations suggest that EEG brain state dynamics in the alpha frequency link to auditory hallucination proneness (HP) in non-clinical individuals....

The meditative brain: State and trait changes in harmonic complexity for long-term mindfulness meditators

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) November 17, 2023 Selen Atasoy, Anira Escrichs, Eloise Stark et al. 6 citations preprint

ABSTRACT Meditation is an ancient practice that is shown to yield benefits for cognition, emotion regulation and human flourishing. In the last two decades, there has been a surge of interest in extracting the neural correlates of meditation, in particular of mindfulness meditation. Yet, these efforts have been mostly limited to the analysis of certain regions or networks of interest and a...

The entropic heart: Tracking the psychedelic state via heart rate dynamics

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) November 9, 2023 Fernando E. Rosas, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Christopher Timmermann et al. 14 citations preprint

A growing body of work shows that autonomic signals provide a privileged evidence-stream to capture various aspects of subjective and neural states. This work investigates the potential for autonomic markers to track the effects of psychedelics — potent psychoactive drugs with important scientific and clinical value. For this purpose, we introduce a novel Bayesian framework to estimate the...

Cultivation, chemistry, and genome of Psilocybe zapotecorum

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) November 2, 2023 Jordan Taylor Jacobs, Alan Rockefeller, Harte Singer et al. 4 citations preprint

Abstract Psilocybe zapotecorum is a strongly blue-bruising psilocybin mushroom used by indigenous groups in southeastern Mexico and beyond. While this species has a rich history of ceremonial use, research into its chemistry and genetics have been limited. Herein, we detail mushroom morphology and report on cultivation parameters, chemical profile, and the full genome sequence of P. zapotecorum...

TMS-EEG shows mindfulness meditation is associated with an altered excitation/inhibition balance in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) November 1, 2023 Gregory Humble, Harry Geddes, Oliver Baell et al. 1 citation preprint

Abstract Objective Mindfulness meditation is associated with functional brain changes in regions subserving higher order cognitive processes such as attention. However, no research to date has causally probed these areas in meditators using combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG). This study aimed to investigate whether cortical reactivity to TMS...

Cellular rules underlying psychedelic control of prefrontal pyramidal neurons

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 23, 2023 Tyler G. Ekins, Isla A. W. Brooks, Sameer Kailasa et al. 17 citations preprint

ABSTRACT Classical psychedelic drugs are thought to increase excitability of pyramidal cells in prefrontal cortex via activation of serotonin 2 A receptors (5-HT2 A Rs). Here, we instead find that multiple classes of psychedelics dose-dependently suppress intrinsic excitability of pyramidal neurons, and that extracellular delivery of psychedelics decreases excitability significantly more than...

Pharmacological and behavioral effects of tryptamines present in psilocybin-containing mushrooms

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 23, 2023 Ryan J. Rakoczy, Grace N. Runge, Abhishek K. Sen et al. preprint

ABSTRACT Demand for more efficacious antidepressants, particularly those with a rapid onset of action, has resulted in a reevaluation of psychedelic drugs for their therapeutic potential. Several tryptamines found in psilocybin-containing ‘magic’ mushrooms share chemical similarities with psilocybin, and early work suggests they may also share receptor targets. However, few studies have...

Enhancing Mental Well-being: Efficacy and Neural Mechanisms of Leyi Training in Emotional and Cognitive Intervention

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 16, 2023 Xiaofei Jia, Rui Li, Changle Zhou preprint

Abstract Leyi mental training comprises physical and mental cultivation methods, such as relaxation, breathing, meditation, koan, and cognitive regulation, with the ultimate goal of achieving enlightenment. Over a decade of practical experience has demonstrated its potential to enhance individuals’ mental well-being. In our study, we employed EEG and psychological scales to investigate the...

Diet and chemical defenses of the Sonoran Desert toads

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 9, 2023 Marina D. Luccioni, Jules T. Wyman, Edgard O. Espinoza et al. 2 citations preprint

Abstract The Sonoran Desert Toad ( Incilius alvarius ) is the only animal known to secrete the psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT as a chemical defense, but the source of 5-MeO-DMT in I. alvarius remains unknown. Some amphibians endogenously produce chemical defenses while others acquire them from specialized diets. In this study we analyzed toxin gland secretions and diet profiles from wild I....

A suite of engineered mice for interrogating psychedelic drug actions

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) September 26, 2023 Yi-Ting Chiu, Wei Wang, Pierre Llorach et al. 15 citations preprint

ABSTRACT Psychedelic drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin have emerged as potentially transformative therapeutics for many neuropsychiatric diseases, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraine, and cluster headaches. LSD and psilocybin exert their psychedelic effects via activation of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (HTR2A). Here we provide...

Exploring Neural Dynamics in Self-Voice Processing and Perception: Implications for Hallucination Proneness

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) September 22, 2023 Suvarnalata Xanthate Duggirala, Hanna Honcamp, Michael Schwartze et al. 1 citation preprint

Abstract Altered sensory feedback processing and attention control are assumed to contribute to auditory verbal hallucinations, which are experienced by the general population and patients with psychosis, implying a continuum of hallucination proneness (HP). However, the interaction of altered sensory feedback processing and attention control along this HP continuum remains unclear....

Intravenous psilocybin administration attenuates mechanical hypersensitivity in a rat model of chronic pain

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) August 28, 2023 Nicholas Kolbman, Tiecheng Liu, Peter R. Guzzo et al. preprint

Abstract There is a renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, including psilocybin, in treating mental health disorders. However, there are no data on the efficacy of psilocybin in alleviating chronic pain. In this study, we investigated the effect of psilocybin on mechanical hypersensitivity and thermal hyperalgesia in a rat model of formalin-induced chronic pain. Adult...

All-night spectral and microstate EEG analysis in patients with Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis (RISP)

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) August 18, 2023 Filip Černý, Václava Piorecká, Monika Kliková et al. preprint

Abstract The pathophysiology of recurrent isolated sleep paralysis (RISP) has yet to be fully clarified. Very little research has been performed on electroencephalographic (EEG) signatures outside RISP episodes. This study aimed to investigate whether sleep is disturbed even without the occurrence of a RISP episode and in a stage different than conventional REM sleep. 17 RISP patients and 17...

Flicker and Ganzfeld induced visual hallucinations differ in frequency and content

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) August 13, 2023 Oris Shenyan, Matteo Lisi, John A. Greenwood et al. preprint

Abstract Hallucinatory experiences, defined as perception in the absence of external stimuli, can occur in both pathological and non-pathological states and can be broadly phenomenologically divided into those of a simple and a complex nature. Non-pathological visual hallucinations can be induced experimentally using a variety of stimulation conditions. To assess whether these techniques drive...

Identification of 5-HT 2A Receptor Signaling Pathways Responsible for Psychedelic Potential

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 31, 2023 Jason Wallach, Andrew B. Cao, Maggie M. Calkins et al. 11 citations preprint

Summary Serotonergic psychedelics possess considerable therapeutic potential. Although 5-HT 2A receptor activation mediates psychedelic effects, prototypical psychedelics activate both 5-HT 2A -Gq/11 and β-arrestin2 signaling, making their respective roles unclear. To elucidate this, we developed a series of 5-HT 2A -selective ligands with varying Gq efficacies, including β-arrestin-biased...

Noribogaine effects on wakefulness and sleep

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 28, 2023 Juan Pedro Castro-Nin, Diego Serantes, Paola Rodrı́guez et al. 1 citation preprint

Abstract Ibogaine is a potent atypical psychedelic that has gained considerable attention due to its antiaddictive and antidepressant properties in preclinical and clinical studies. Previous research from our group showed that ibogaine suppresses sleep and produces an altered wakefulness state which resembles natural REM sleep. However, after systemic administration, ibogaine is rapidly...

Effects of psychedelics on neurogenesis and brain plasticity: A systematic review

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 20, 2023 Rafael V Lima Da Cruz, Richardson N. Leão, Thiago C. Moulin preprint

In the mammalian brain, new neurons continue to be generated throughout life in a process known as adult neurogenesis. The role of adult-generated neurons has been broadly studied across laboratories, and mounting evidence suggests a strong link to the HPA axis and concomitant malfunctions in patients diagnosed with mood disorders. Psychedelic compounds, such as phenethylamines, tryptamines,...

High-density exploration of activity states in a multi-area brain model

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) May 18, 2023 David Aquilué-Llorens, Jennifer S. Goldman, Alain Destexhe 2 citations preprint

ABSTRACT Biophysically-grounded whole-brain models were built recently using tractography data to interconnect multiple mesoscopic models, which can simulate the dynamics of neuronal populations with only a few equations. Mean-field models of neural populations, specifically the Adapting AdEx mean-field, was used for this purpose because it can integrate key biophysical mechanisms such as...