Janae R. Wallingford

Colorado School of Public Health

2 papers in the library · 3 citations · publishing 2025-2026

Papers

Assessing the Potential Cardiovascular Risk of Microdosing the Psychedelic LSD in Mice

ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science August 22, 2025 Devin P. Effinger, Serena S. Schalk, Jillian L. King et al. 3 citations

Microdosing involves taking psychedelics at doses too low to cause hallucinations, and is popular for supposed cognitive and emotional benefits. Psychedelics bind strongly to 5-HT 2B receptors, which can cause heart disease when chronically activated. In mice, researchers gave either serotonin or d-fenfluramine as positive controls, or low doses of LSD. Serotonin caused significant ventricular thickening at 4 and 8 weeks; d-fenfluramine caused aortic valve regurgitation at 4 weeks. No significant heart changes appeared in any LSD group. LSD, psilocybin, and norfenfluramine had similar affinity and potency at mouse and human 5-HT 2B receptors. Low-dose LSD produced substantial but short-lived receptor activation compared to d-fenfluramine. These data provide no evidence that prolonged low-dose LSD causes heart remodeling in mice.

DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.5c00202 Pharmacology Medicine

Characterizing non-hallucinogenic psychedelics beyond the head twitch response: phenotypic fingerprinting of lisuride and LSD

Translational Psychiatry June 13, 2026 Jillian L. King, Devin P. Effinger, Cameron Basquez-Pfeifer et al.

The head-twitch response (HTR) in mice, a standard test for hallucinogenic potential, fails to reliably indicate overall psychoactivity. Lisuride, which did not produce HTR, caused impaired movement, coordination, stress, cognitive disruption, and reduced prefrontal cortex EEG power. LSD, which triggered strong HTR, had minimal effects on these measures. Neither compound's effects beyond HTR depended on 5-HT₂A receptors. The HTR alone is insufficient and should be combined with other assessments.

DOI: 10.1038/s41398-026-04174-4 Full text Lisuride Phenotype Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Head geology +4