The zebrafish for preclinical psilocybin research.
Omer A. Syed, Benjamin Tsang, Robert Gerlai
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews October 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105381 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Anxiety Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Affective disorders Social behavior Zebrafish Entheogens Psychedelics hallucinogens Psychoactive drugs Neuroscience brain research Neural studies Neurobiology Psychiatric conditions Behavioral health |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Zebrafish have a promising future in preclinical research on psychedelic drugs like psilocybin. |
Abstract
In this review, we discuss the possible utility of zebrafish in research on psilocybin, a psychedelic drug whose recreational use as well as possible clinical application are gaining increasing interest. First, we review behavioral tests with zebrafish, focussing on anxiety and social behavior, which have particular relevance in the context of psilocybin research. Next, we briefly consider methods of genetic manipulations with which psilocybin's phenotypical effects and underlying mechanisms may be investigated in zebrafish. We briefly review the known mechanisms of psilocybin, and also discuss what we know about its safety and toxicity profile. Last, we discuss examples of how psilocybin may be employed for testing treatment efficacy in preclinical research for affective disorders in zebrafish. We conclude that zebrafish has a promising future in preclinical research on psychedelic drugs.