Neuroscience letters
September 25, 2022
Alaina M Jaster, Jason Younkin, Travis Cuddy et al.
53 citations
The psychedelic compound DOI triggers more head-twitch behavior—a mouse proxy for human psychedelic effects—in female C57BL/6J mice than in males, a sex difference not seen in 129S6/SvEv mice. The 5-HT2A receptor antagonist volinanserin fully blocked this behavior in both sexes. Despite greater behavioral sensitivity in females, brain and plasma levels of DOI were lower in females 30 and 60 minutes after injection, and no sex difference appeared in frontal-cortex IP1 accumulation. These findings indicate strain-dependent and sex-related differences in the behavioral and pharmacokinetic responses to DOI, underscoring the need to include sex as a biological variable in preclinical psychedelic research.
Nature communications
November 20, 2025
Alaina M Jaster, Thomas M Hadlock, Belle Buzzi et al.
9 citations
A single dose of the psychedelic psilocybin reduces conditioned behavior and withdrawal caused by the opioid oxycodone in male mice but not in females. This sex-specific effect is mediated by the 5-HT2A receptor in frontal cortex pyramidal neurons that project to the nucleus accumbens. Psilocybin also alters epigenomic regulation after repeated oxycodone exposure and induces sex-specific structural plasticity in the nucleus accumbens independently of the 5-HT2A receptor. Female frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens show fewer changes at gene enhancer regions in response to psilocybin, repeated oxycodone, or their combination compared to males, with the frontal cortex displaying more pronounced sex differences at the epigenomic level.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2024
Alaina K Holt, Alyssa K Rudy, Ashlee N Sawyer et al.
2 citations
A survey of e-cigarette users found that devices originally intended for nicotine are now commonly used to consume other drugs, especially cannabinoids. Respondents averaged 27.4 years old, mostly male (73%). Vape pens were the most common device type. Cannabinoids were the most reported drug class for both lifetime and past 30-day use. Other drugs reported include herbal supplements, amphetamines, caffeine, kratom, vitamins, opiates, DMT, fentanyl, and ketamine. Vaping alone was the most common context, followed by with friends, at home, and at social events; less common contexts included driving, at work, and at school. The results can inform future national surveys and public safety efforts.