Structural plasticity and enhanced fear extinction following psilocybin in chronically stressed mice.
Cory A. Knox, Samuel C Woodburn, Amelia D. Gilbert, Jason M. Schlotzhauer, Alex C. Kwan
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology April 22, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.04.21.720014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal imaging study |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Key findings | Psilocybin increases dendritic spine density in frontal cortical neurons and facilitates fear extinction after chronic restraint stress in mice. |
Abstract
The classic psychedelic psilocybin elicits long-lasting neural plasticity and behavioral effects, but prior studies largely examined stress-naive animals. Using longitudinal imaging, we show that psilocybin increases dendritic spine density in frontal cortical neurons and facilitates fear extinction after chronic restraint stress, demonstrating psilocybin's effects in a translationally relevant mouse model.
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 |