Effects of acute and repeated treatment with serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist hallucinogens on intracranial self-stimulation in rats.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology January 10, 2019 Farhana Sakloth, Elizabeth Leggett, Megan J. Moerke et al. 42 citations
The classic hallucinogens LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, classified as Schedule 1 drugs, were tested in rats using intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), a procedure that detects abuse-related effects of other drugs. In acute tests, all three drugs predominantly depressed ICSS, with weak and inconsistent evidence of abuse-related facilitation. Repeated LSD treatment did not alter its own depressant effects or the abuse-related effects of methamphetamine, but it did attenuate ICSS depression caused by the kappa opioid receptor agonist U69,593. These findings suggest that 5-HT2A agonist hallucinogens have weak abuse potential and provide evidence that repeated LSD may reduce depressant-like effects mediated by kappa opioid receptors.