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Piotr Popik

Department of Behavioral Neuroscience and Drug Development, Maj Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland.

5 papers in the library · 169 citations · publishing 1995-2023

Papers

NMDA antagonist properties of the putative antiaddictive drug, ibogaine.

Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics November 1, 1995 Piotr Popik, Richard T. Layer, Linda H. Fossom et al. 100 citations

Ibogaine blocks NMDA receptors in a voltage-dependent manner, with a Ki of 2.3 µM at -60 mV in hippocampal cultures, and competitively inhibits [3H]TCP binding to rat forebrain homogenates (Ki, 1.5 µM). It also blocks glutamate-induced cell death in neuronal cultures (IC50, 4.5 µM). At doses that interfere with drug-seeking behaviors, ibogaine substitutes as a discriminative stimulus (ED50, 64.9 mg/kg) in mice trained to discriminate dizocilpine from saline. Ibogaine reduces naloxone-precipitated jumping in morphine-dependent mice (ED50, 72 mg/kg), an effect abolished by glycine pretreatment. These findings link ibogaine's NMDA antagonist actions to its ability to reduce morphine dependence.

R-(-)-ketamine modifies behavioral effects of morphine predicting efficacy as a novel therapy for opioid use disorder.

Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior April 22, 2020 J. Witkin, J. Kranzler, K. Kaniecki et al. 33 citations

The (R)-ketamine enantiomer may offer a safer treatment for substance abuse disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and drug-seeking behavior without causing negative mood or anhedonia. In experiments with morphine-dependent rats, (R)-ketamine alleviated withdrawal signs and blocked morphine-induced place preference in mice without producing place preference itself. Unlike S-ketamine, (R)-ketamine did not induce anhedonia in rats. These findings suggest (R)-ketamine could dampen withdrawal and drug liking without the dissociative or mood-related side effects that limit current therapies, supporting further preclinical and clinical investigation.

Effects of ketamine optical isomers, psilocybin, psilocin and norpsilocin on time estimation and cognition in rats

Psychopharmacology March 2, 2022 Piotr Popik, Adam S. Hogendorf, Ryszard Bugno et al. 30 citations

Time underestimation caused by (S)-ketamine may be linked to its antidepressant effects, but this came with severe behavioral disruption. The authors propose that behavioral disruption induced by psychedelics objectively indicates their psychotomimetic-like actions.

Acute but not long-lasting antidepressant-like effect of psilocybin in differential reinforcement of low-rate 72 schedule in rats

Journal of Psychopharmacology October 16, 2023 Maciej Koniewski, Piotr Popik, Natalia Malikowska‐racia et al. 6 citations

Psilocybin, but not LSD, produced an immediate antidepressant-like effect in rats tested on a differential reinforcement of low-rate responding (DRL 72s) schedule, shown by increased reinforced presses and response efficiency. Neither drug showed lasting effects up to four weeks after administration. The DRL 72s test, which reliably distinguishes antidepressants from other psychoactive drugs, detected only acute changes. These results suggest that detecting sustained antidepressant-like effects in rodents may require new behavioral methods, and question whether prolonged efficacy observed in humans depends on the psychotherapy typically paired with psychedelic treatment.