Effects of psilocybin, psychedelic mushroom extract and 5-hydroxytryptophan on brain immediate early gene expression: Interaction with serotonergic receptor modulators
Frontiers in Pharmacology April 18, 2024 Elad Lerer, Alexander Botvinnik, Orr Shahar et al. 14 citations
Psilocybin and a psilocybin-containing mushroom extract, but not the serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan, increased expression of immediate early genes cfos and egr1 in the somatosensory cortex of male mice. The head twitch response, a behavioral measure, did not correlate with gene expression changes. Blocking the 5-HT2C receptor enhanced psilocybin-induced egr2 expression, but other serotonergic modulators had no effect. These findings suggest that cfos and egr1 expression may be linked to psychedelic effects.