Effects of acute lysergic acid diethylamide on intermittent ethanol and sucrose drinking and intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6 mice.
Lauri Elsilä, Juliana Harkki, Emma Enberg, Alvar Martti, Anni-Maija Linden, Esa R. Korpi
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) July 2022 DOI: 10.1177/02698811221104641 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male C57BL/6 mice |
| Interventions | Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) amphetamine |
| Dose | 0.1 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg (i.p.) LSD |
| Measures | 2-bottle choice intermittent ethanol (20%) and sucrose drinking (10%), discrete-trial current-intensity threshold method of intracranial self-stimulation, short-term feeding behaviour assay |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Reward Ethanol Intracranial self-stimulation Sucrose |
| Key findings | Acute LSD at 0.1 mg/kg, but not 0.05 mg/kg, transiently reduced 2-hour intermittent ethanol drinking in male C57BL/6 mice without affecting sucrose drinking or intracranial self-stimulation thresholds, and without altering amphetamine's rewarding effects. The authors conclude the reduction is unlikely to stem from reward attenuation and may partly reflect reduced consummatory behaviour. |
Abstract
Psychedelics, like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are again being studied as potential therapies for many neuropsychiatric disorders, including addictions. At the same time, the acute effects of psychedelics on rewarding behaviours have been scarcely studied. The current study aimed to clarify if LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, and whether the observed acute effects on ethanol consumption are generalizable to a natural reinforcer, sucrose, and if the effects resulted from aversive or reward-attenuating effects caused by LSD. The effects of acute LSD were examined using 2-bottle choice intermittent ethanol (20%) and sucrose drinking (10%), discrete-trial current-intensity threshold method of intracranial self-stimulation and short-term feeding behaviour assay in C57BL/6 male mice. The results showed that acute 0.1 mg/kg, but not 0.05 mg/kg, dose (i.p.) of LSD reduced 2-h intermittent ethanol drinking transiently without any prolonged effects. No effects were seen in intermittent 2-h sucrose drinking. The tested LSD doses had neither effect on the intracranial self-stimulation current-intensity thresholds, nor did LSD affect the threshold-lowering, or rewarding, effects of simultaneous amphetamine treatment. Furthermore, LSD had small, acute diminishing effects on 2-h food and water intake. Based on these results, LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, but only acutely. This effect is not likely to stem from reward-attenuating effects but could be in part due to reduced consummatory behaviour.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on LSD, most cited first.