Behavioral and genetic analysis of the effects of the psychedelic 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI) in C. elegans.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology May 23, 2025 Amanda M White, Adele D Bauer, Serge Faumont et al. preprint
The psychedelic compound DOI strongly inhibits feeding in the roundworm C. elegans, even though effects on locomotion, swimming, and egg-laying were undetectable. This feeding suppression occurred independently of serotonin receptors, indicating that DOI may act through alternative molecular pathways. The findings suggest that C. elegans can serve as a cost-effective, genetically tractable model for studying psychedelic drug mechanisms, potentially revealing novel targets beyond the serotonergic system that could inform therapeutic applications for depression, PTSD, and substance use disorder.