Effects of psilocybin on uncertain punishment learning.
David S Jacobs, Alina P Bogachuk, Chloé L Le Moing, Bita Moghaddam
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory September 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107954 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male and female rats |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Anxiety Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Conflict Psilocybin research psychedelics Hallucinogens Psychological intervention Decision-making risk assessment Behavioral choices Cognitive processing Reward-punishment learning reinfor |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin increased behavioral suppression in female rats during learning of reward-punishment conflict associations but decreased behavioral suppression in both sexes after learning. |
Abstract
Psilocybin may provide a useful treatment for mood disorders including anxiety and depression but its mechanisms of action for these effects are not well understood. While recent preclinical work has begun to assess psilocybin's role in affective behaviors through innate anxiety or fear conditioning, there is scant evidence for its role in conflict between reward and punishment. The current study was designed to determine the impact of psilocybin on the learning of reward-punishment conflict associations, as well as its effects after learning, in male and female rats. We utilized a chained schedule of reinforcement that involved execution of safe and risky reward-guided actions under uncertain punishment. Different patterns of behavioral suppression by psilocybin emerged during learning versus after learning of risky action-reward associations. Psilocybin increased behavioral suppression in female rats as punishment associations were learned. After learning, psilocybin decreased behavioral suppression in both sexes. Thus, psilocybin produces divergent effects on action suppression during approach-avoidance conflict depending on when the conflict is experienced. This observation may have implications for its therapeutic mechanism of action.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on psilocybin for anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Psilocin and ketamine microdosing: effects of subchronic intermittent microdoses in the elevated plus-maze in male Wistar rats Wistar rats | 2018 | Experimental study | n = 40 |
| Striking long-term beneficial effects of single dose psilocybin and psychedelic mushroom extract in the SAPAP3 rodent model of OCD-like excessive self-grooming SAPAP3 knockout mice | 2024 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 50 |
| Psilocybe cubensis extract potently prevents fear memory recall and freezing behavior in short- but not long-term in a rat model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Male rats | 2024 | Preclinical study | |
| Psilocybin induces acute anxiety and changes in amygdalar phosphopeptides independently from the 5-HT2A receptor Mice | 2024 | Experimental study |