Sleep-like state during wakefulness induced by psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT in mice
Benjamin J. B. Bréant, José Prius-Mengual, David M. Bannerman, Trevor Sharp, Vladyslav V. Vyazovskiy, Trevor Sharp, Vladyslav V Vyazovskiy
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) December 11, 2022 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2022.12.11.519886 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPsychedelics 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.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult male mice |
| Interventions | 5-methoxy-N N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) |
| Topics | Serotonin |
| Keywords | Wakefulness Vigilance psychology Neuroscience Slow-wave sleep |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key finding | 5-MeO-DMT induces a dissociated state of arousal with sleep-like cortical slow waves and pupil dilation in awake, moving mice, while suppressing REM sleep. |
Abstract
Abstract Psychedelics lead to profound changes in subjective experience and behaviour, which are typically conceptualised in psychological terms rather than corresponding to an altered brain state or a distinct state of arousal. Here, we performed chronic electrophysiological recordings from the cortex concomitant with pupillometry in freely moving adult male mice following an injection of a short-acting psychedelic 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). We observed an acute induction of a dissociated state of arousal, characterised by prominent sleep-like slow waves in the cortex and marked pupil dilation in behaviourally awake, moving animals. REM sleep was markedly suppressed, similar to the effect of conventional antidepressants. We argue that the occurrence of a dissociated brain state combining features of waking and sleep may fundamentally underpin the known and hypothesised effects of psychedelics — from dream-like hallucinations to reopening of the critical period for plasticity.