Translational Psychiatry
February 23, 2022
Trevor Sharp, Christopher W. Thomas, Cristina Blanco‐duque et al.
40 citations
Psilocin, a serotonergic psychedelic, alters sleep architecture and cortical activity in mice. Acute administration delays REM sleep onset, reduces NREM sleep maintenance for about three hours, and enhances a 4 Hz EEG oscillation. No long-term changes in sleep-wake quantity occur. Psilocin does not affect the overall homeostatic sleep rebound after sleep deprivation, but it slows the recovery of slow-wave activity in the medial prefrontal and surrounding cortex. These findings suggest psilocin influences both global vigilance state control and local sleep homeostasis, which may relate to its antidepressant effects.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
December 11, 2022
Benjamin J. B. Bréant, José Prius-Mengual, David M. Bannerman et al.
5 citations
preprint
Psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT induce a dissociated state of arousal that combines features of waking and sleep. In freely moving adult male mice, the drug produced sleep-like slow waves in the cortex alongside marked pupil dilation, even while animals were awake and moving. REM sleep was strongly suppressed, similar to the effect of conventional antidepressants. This mixed brain state may explain psychedelic effects such as dream-like hallucinations and reopening of the critical period for plasticity.
Commun Biol
January 5, 2026
Benjamin J. B. Bréant, José Prius Mengual, Alexander Andrews et al.
1 citation
Psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT induce a dissociated brain state that combines features of waking and sleep, rather than a purely psychological change. In freely moving adult male mice, chronic neocortical recordings and pupillometry showed that the drug produces prominent slow oscillations in the cortex and marked pupil dilation while animals remain awake and moving. REM sleep was initially suppressed but overcompensated in the following 48 hours. When given immediately after sleep deprivation, 5-MeO-DMT reduced the subsequent rebound of slow-wave activity. This dissociated state may underlie psychedelic effects such as dream-like hallucinations and reopening of critical periods for plasticity.