Psilocybin as a discriminative stimulus: Lack of specificity in an animal behavior model for ?hallucinogens?
Psychopharmacology February 1, 1982 DOI: 10.1007/bf00435266 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal discrimination study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Rats |
| Interventions | psilocybin psilocin LSD mescaline |
| Dose | 1.0 mg/kg |
| Topics | Mescaline Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Tryptamine Stimulus control Pharmacology |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key points | The psilocybin cue generalized to psilocin and LSD, but not to mescaline, indicating these compounds may not be members of a single drug class. |
Abstract
Fifteen rats were trained to discriminate between the tryptamine hallucinogen psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine; 1.0 mg/kg) and saline in a two-lever choice task. Dose-response and time-response curves were obtained. The psilocybin cue generalized to psilocin (the dephosphorylated congener of psilocybin) and to the prototypical indoleamine hallucinogen LSD, but not to the phenylethylamine hallucinogen mescaline. These results indicate that the hallucinogenic effects of these drugs in humans may not be identical with their discriminative stimulus functions in animals, and that these four compounds may not be members of a single drug class. The term 'hallucinogen' may thus be a misnomer in the context of drug discrimination studies in nonhumans.
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
Cited by 13
- The abuse potential of medical psilocybin according to the 8 factors of the Controlled Substances Act Neuropharmacology June 5, 2018
- The hallucinogenic world of tryptamines: an updated review. Archives of Toxicology August 1, 2015
- Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species. Neuropharmacology May 1, 2020
- The promises and perils of psychedelic pharmacology for psychiatry. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery June 1, 2022
- Hallucinogenic Drugs in Psychiatric Research and Treatment Perspectives and Prospects The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 1, 1995
and 8 more in the library
Cites 12
- Acquired and Crossed Tolerance to Mescaline, LSD-25, and BOL-148 Archives of General Psychiatry September 1, 1959
- An Animal Behavior Model for Studying the Actions of LSD and Related Hallucinogens Science November 12, 1976
- Role of serotonin in the discriminative stimulus properties of mescaline Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior May 1, 1975
- Mescaline and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) as discriminative stimuli Psychopharmacology 1971
- Hallucinogenic agents as discriminative stimuli: a correlation with serotonin receptor affinities. Psychopharmacology 1980
and 7 more in the library