Psilocybin reduces functional connectivity and the encoding of spatial information by neurons in mouse retrosplenial cortex
April 22, 2024 Victorita E. Ivan, David P. Tomàs‐cuesta, Ingrid M. Esteves et al. 1 citation
Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, reduces the spatial specificity and stability of neural activity in the retrosplenial cortex of mice navigating a treadmill. Place-related firing of neurons became less selective for distinct locations, and the consistency of this activity across trials decreased. Functional connectivity between simultaneously recorded neurons also declined. Most of these effects were blocked by the serotonin 2A receptor antagonist ketanserin, implicating 5-HT2AR signaling. The findings align with the proposal that psychedelics increase neural entropy and may explain the disorientation often reported by humans after taking such drugs.