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Cross-tolerance studies of serotonin receptors involved in behavioral effects of LSD in rats.

K M Krebs, Mark A. Geyer

Psychopharmacology January 1994 DOI: 10.1007/bf02245219 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Controlled animal experiment (cross-tolerance regimen) Peer reviewed
Population Rats tested in a behavioral pattern monitor
Interventions LSD 8-hydroxy-2(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) 1-(2 5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) saline
Dose 8-OH-DPAT 0.5 mg/kg SC; DOI 1.0 mg/kg SC; LSD 60 micrograms/kg SC
Duration Pretreatment every 12 h for 5 or 8 days; testing 36 hours later
Topics LSD Serotonin
Key findings Chronic pretreatment with 8-OH-DPAT or DOI produced cross-tolerance to LSD's effects on locomotor activity and investigatory behavior in rats. The authors argue this supports the hypothesis that LSD's effects in this model reflect a combination of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptor actions, and that the two receptor systems interact.

Abstract

Like hallucinogenic 5-HT2 agonists, LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) produces characteristic decreases in locomotor activity and investigatory behaviors of rats tested in a novel environment. Because LSD is an agonist at both 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors, however, the respective influences of these different receptors in the behavioral effects of LSD remain unclear. In particular, the paucity of selective 5-HT1A antagonists has made it difficult to assess the specific contribution of 5-HT1A receptors to the effects of LSD. An alternative approach to the delineation of receptor-specific effects is the use of cross-tolerance regimens. In the present studies, rats were pretreated with saline, 8-hydroxy-2(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) (0.5 mg/kg SC), 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) (1.0 mg/kg SC), or LSD (60 micrograms/kg SC), every 12 h for 5 or 8 days. Thirty-six hours later, rats were tested in a behavioral pattern monitor 10 min after injection of saline, 0.5 mg/kg 8-OH-DPAT, 1.0 mg/kg DOI, or 60 micrograms/kg LSD. As expected, tolerance to the decreases in locomotor activity produced by acute administrations of 8-OH-DPAT, DOI, or LSD occurred when rats were pretreated chronically with 8-OH-DPAT, DOI, or LSD, respectively. Furthermore, pretreatment with either 8-OH-DPAT or DOI produced cross-tolerance to LSD. These results support the hypothesis that the effects of LSD in this model reflect a combination of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 effects and support the view that there is an interaction between 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors.

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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