Transcriptome Fingerprints Distinguish Hallucinogenic and Nonhallucinogenic 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A Receptor Agonist Effects in Mouse Somatosensory Cortex
Journal of Neuroscience October 1, 2003 Javier González‐maeso, Tony Yuen, Barbara J. Ebersole et al. 295 citations
Different drugs that activate the same serotonin receptor (5-HT2AR) can produce distinct patterns of gene expression in the brain, which correspond to different behavioral effects. The hallucinogens DOI and LSD triggered a head-twitch response in mice and produced similar changes in the somatosensory cortex transcriptome, while the nonhallucinogenic drug lisuride did not cause this behavior and generated a different transcriptome fingerprint. These effects were absent in mice lacking the 5-HT2AR, confirming the receptor's role. The findings suggest that drugs acting at the same receptor can induce unique cellular response patterns in the living brain, detectable through transcriptome analysis.