Investigating the role of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor activation in the effects of psilocybin, DOI, and citalopram on marble burying in mice
Behavioural Brain Research December 28, 2020 Anna U. Odland, Jesper L. Kristensen, Jesper T. Andreasen 60 citations
Psychedelic drugs that activate the 5-HT2A receptor show promise for treating psychiatric disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder. In a mouse model of compulsive-like behavior (the marble burying test), the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 blocked the effect of the psychedelic DOI, and the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB242084 blocked the effect of citalopram, but neither antagonist blocked the effect of psilocybin. This confirms 5-HT2A receptor activation as a mechanism for reducing compulsive-like digging and suggests that 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors can work in parallel. The results with psilocybin indicate that a mechanism independent of 5-HT2 receptors also contributes to its effect on repetitive digging.