Psilocybin as a fast-acting and long-lasting antidepressant for adolescence: Proposing NeuroD1 as a biomarker of its long-term plasticity
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy October 30, 2025 Rubén García‐cabrerizo, Itziar Beruete-Fresnillo, Pedro Bergas-Cladera et al. 3 citations
Oral psilocybin produces rapid and long-lasting antidepressant-like effects in adolescent rats of both sexes, alongside hallucinogenic-like head-twitch responses. Acute doses of 0.3 and 1 mg/kg induced fast behavioral changes in the forced-swim test that coincided with the timing of hallucinogenic effects. Repeated daily dosing for seven days increased hippocampal neurogenesis markers—Ki-67 (cell proliferation), NeuroD1 (neural progenitors), and BrdU (cell survival)—measured one day later. Antidepressant-like effects persisted up to 15 days after treatment and paralleled continued regulation of NeuroD1. These findings suggest oral psilocybin may offer a fast-acting, long-lasting treatment for adolescent depression, with NeuroD1 as a potential biomarker of long-term neural plasticity.