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5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)2A receptors in rat anterior cingulate cortex mediate the discriminative stimulus properties of d-lysergic acid diethylamide.

Paul J Gresch, Robert J. Barrett, Elaine Sanders‐bush, Randy L Smith

Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics February 2007 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.106.112946 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study (drug discrimination with intracerebral microinjections) Peer reviewed
Population Rats
Interventions LSD M100907
Dose LSD: 0.085 mg/kg s.c. (systemic training), 0.1875, 0.375, 0.75 microg/side (intra-ACC); M100907: 0.4 mg/kg (systemic), 0.5 microg/microl/side (intra-ACC)
Measures drug discrimination (percent drug lever responding)
Topics LSD Serotonin
Key findings LSD infused into the anterior cingulate cortex dose-dependently substituted for systemically administered LSD, with complete substitution at 0.75 microg/side (89% correct). The 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 blocked the discriminative cue of intra-ACC LSD and also blocked the stimulus effects of systemic LSD when infused locally, indicating that ACC 5-HT2A receptors mediate LSD's discriminative stimulus.

Abstract

d-Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), an indoleamine hallucinogen, produces profound alterations in mood, thought, and perception in humans. The brain site(s) that mediates the effects of LSD is currently unknown. In this study, we combine the drug discrimination paradigm with intracerebral microinjections to investigate the anatomical localization of the discriminative stimulus of LSD in rats. Based on our previous findings, we targeted the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to test its involvement in mediating the discriminative stimulus properties of LSD. Rats were trained to discriminate systemically administered LSD (0.085 mg/kg s.c.) from saline. Following acquisition of the discrimination, bilateral cannulae were implanted into the ACC (AP, +1.2 mm; ML, +/-1.0 mm; DV, -2.0 mm relative to bregma). Rats were tested for their ability to discriminate varying doses of locally infused LSD (0.1875, 0.375, and 0.75 microg/side) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (n = 3-7). LSD locally infused into ACC dose-dependently substituted for systemically administered LSD, with 0.75 microg/side LSD substituting completely (89% correct). Systemic administration of the selective 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) (5-HT)(2A) receptor antagonist R-(+)-alpha-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-[2-(4-fluorophenylethyl)]-4-piperidine-methanol (M100907; 0.4 mg/kg) blocked the discriminative cue of LSD (0.375 microg/side) infused into ACC (from 68 to 16% drug lever responding). Furthermore, M100907 (0.5 microg/microl/side) locally infused into ACC completely blocked the stimulus effects of systemic LSD (0.04 mg/kg; from 80 to 12% on the LSD lever). Taken together, these data indicate that 5-HT(2A) receptors in the ACC are a primary target mediating the discriminative stimulus properties of LSD.

Comparable studies

Other preclinical and animal studies on LSD, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Transcriptome Fingerprints Distinguish Hallucinogenic and Nonhallucinogenic 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A Receptor Agonist Effects in Mouse Somatosensory Cortex Human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably expressing 5-HT2ARs; wild-type and 5-HT2AR... 2003 Experimental study
Evidence for a central 5‐hydroxytryptamine receptor stimulation by lysergic acid diethylamide Rats 1968 Experimental study
Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats 2020 Preclinical study
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) promotes social behavior through mTORC1 in the excitatory neurotransmission Male mice 2021 Multidisciplinary experimental study with in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, behavioral paradigms, molecular biology, and conditional knockout mice
A non-hallucinogenic LSD analog with therapeutic potential for mood disorders. Mice and cultured rat cortical neurons 2023 Preclinical study

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