Short- and long-term reconfiguration of rat prefrontal cortical networks following single doses of psilocybin
Ross J. Purple, Rekha Gupta, Christopher W. Thomas, Caroline T. Golden, Sean Froudist-Walsh, Matthew W. Jones
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 13, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.10.627734 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult rats |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | 0.3mg/kg or 1mg/kg i.p. |
| Duration | 6 days post-injection |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Infralimbic cortex Prefrontal cortex Local field potential Anterior cingulate cortex Pyramidal cell Hallucinogen |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin induces 100 Hz high frequency oscillations in the infralimbic cortex and decreases pyramidal cell firing rates acutely, followed by increases in beta and low-gamma power over subsequent days. |
Abstract
SUMMARY We quantify cellular- and circuit-resolution neural network dynamics following therapeutically relevant doses of the psychedelic psilocybin. Using chronically implanted Neuropixels probes, we recorded local field potentials (LFP) alongside action potentials from hundreds of neurons spanning infralimbic, prelimbic and cingulate subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex of freely-behaving adult rats. Psilocybin (0.3mg/kg or 1mg/kg i.p.) unmasked 100Hz high frequency oscillations that were most pronounced within the infralimbic cortex, persisted for approximately 1h post-injection and were accompanied by decreased net pyramidal cell firing rates and reduced signal complexity. These acute effects were more prominent during resting behaviour than during a sustained attention task. LFP 1-, 2- and 6-days post-psilocybin showed gradually-emerging increases in beta and low-gamma (20-60Hz) power, specific to the infralimbic cortex. These findings reveal features of psychedelic action not readily detectable in human brain imaging, implicating infralimbic network oscillations as potential biomarkers of psychedelic-induced network plasticity over multi-day timescales.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on psilocybin, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psilocybin induces rapid and persistent growth of dendritic spines in frontal cortex in vivo Mice | 2021 | Observational cohort | |
| Harnessing psilocybin: antidepressant-like behavioral and synaptic actions of psilocybin are independent of 5-HT2R activation in mice Mice | 2021 | Experimental study | |
| Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period Mice | 2023 | Experimental study in mice | |
| Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species. C57BL/6J mice | 2020 | Experimental study with dose-response experiments | |
| Effects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditioning Mice | 2013 | Experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cites 43
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Psychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity Cell Reports June 1, 2018
- Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression. New England Journal of Medicine November 3, 2022
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
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