A perspective on psychedelic teratogenicity: the utility of Zebrafish models.
Omer A. Syed, Benjamin Tsang, Rotem Petranker, Robert Gerlai
TIPS - Trends in Pharmacological Sciences August 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2023.08.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | Argues that psychedelic teratogenicity in pregnant and breastfeeding women is severely understudied, that existing rodent and human survey data have important limitations, and proposes the zebrafish as an effective model for investigating these effects given its established use in fetal exposure and developmental biology research. |
Abstract
Psychedelic drugs have experienced an unprecedented surge in recreational use within the past few years. Among recreational users, the risks of psychedelic use by pregnant and breastfeeding women are severely understudied and there is little information on the potential teratogenic effects of these drugs. We provide an overview of the previous data on psychedelic teratogenicity from rodent studies and human surveys, discuss their limitations, and propose the utility of the zebrafish as a potential effective model for investigating psychedelic teratogenicity. Recent years have validated the use of zebrafish in the study of fetal exposure and developmental biology; we highlight these properties of the zebrafish for its suitability in psychedelic toxicity research.
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