Psilocin acutely disrupts sleep and affects local but not global sleep homeostasis in laboratory mice
bioRxiv Preprint Server February 16, 2021 Christopher W. Thomas, Cristina Blanco-Duque, Benjamin Bréant et al. 4 citations preprint
A single dose of psilocin, the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms, alters sleep architecture in mice. Psilocin delayed the onset of REM sleep and reduced NREM sleep maintenance for about three hours after injection, without causing long-term changes in sleep quantity. The acute brain response featured enhanced oscillations around 4 Hz. When mice were sleep-deprived, psilocin did not change the overall amount of sleep rebound, but it slowed the recovery of slow wave activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that psilocin affects both global vigilance and local sleep homeostasis, which may relate to its potential antidepressant effects.