The psychedelic psilocybin and light exposure have similar and synergistic effects on gene expression patterns in the visual cortex.
Ram Harari, Dmitriy Getselter, Evan Elliott
Molecular Brain March 18, 2025 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-025-01191-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Neuroplasticity Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Visual perception Molecular biology Psychedelics |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Psilocybin induces gene expression changes in the mouse visual cortex that closely resemble light-induced changes, even in darkness, and synergize with light exposure on epigenetic programming genes. |
Abstract
Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound found in specific hallucinogenic mushrooms, is known to induce changes in visual perception and experience in humans. However, there is little knowledge of the molecular mechanisms through which psilocybin affects vision-associated regions in the brain, such as the visual cortex. The current study determined both psilocybin-induced and experience-dependent changes (exposure to light) in visual cortex gene expression in mice. Of great interest, psilocybin induced robust gene expression changes in the visual cortex that closely mirror light-induced gene expression changes, even when the mice are kept in the dark. These gene expression changes correspond to specific molecular pathways, including synaptic functioning, and represent genes expressed in specific subtypes of neurons. In addition, exposure to both psilocybin and light induced synergetic changes in genes involved in epigenetic programming. Overall, the study determined that psilocybin induces robust changes in gene expression in the visual cortex that may have functional consequences in visual perception both in the absence and in synergy with visual experience.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Psychedelics and the Extracellular Matrix: Rewiring Neuroplasticity and Metaplasticity for Next-Generation Psychiatric Therapies Biological Psychiatry February 1, 2026
- Long- term administration of low doses of psilocybin causes epigenetic changes in the rat medial prefrontal cortex Psychopharmacology July 28, 2026
- A philosophical treatise on information, consciousness, and the architecture of perceived reality. Frontiers in Psychology June 9, 2026
- Stroboscopic light stimulation as a controllable probe of the psilocybin state: a mechanistic framework and a falsifiable prediction Frontiers in Pharmacology September 30, 2026
Cites 7
- Psychedelics promote plasticity by directly binding to BDNF receptor TrkB Nature Neuroscience June 1, 2023
- Activation of Serotonin 2A Receptors Underlies the Psilocybin-Induced Effects on Oscillations, N170 Visual-Evoked Potentials, and Visual Hallucinations Journal of Neuroscience June 19, 2013
- Psilocybin-Induced Deficits in Automatic and Controlled Inhibition are Attenuated by Ketanserin in Healthy Human Volunteers Neuropsychopharmacology September 28, 2011
- The 5-HT2A/1A Agonist Psilocybin Disrupts Modal Object Completion Associated with Visual Hallucinations Biological Psychiatry December 4, 2010
- Psilocybin analog 4-OH-DiPT enhances fear extinction and GABAergic inhibition of principal neurons in the basolateral amygdala. Neuropsychopharmacology April 1, 2024
and 2 more in the library