Psilocybin exerts distinct effects on resting state networks associated with serotonin and dopamine in mice
Publication year
2021Source
NeuroImage, 225, (2021), article 117456ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
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Organization
Medical Imaging
Cognitive Neuroscience
Journal title
NeuroImage
Volume
vol. 225
Subject
Radboudumc 13: Stress-related disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience; Cognitive Neuroscience - Radboud University Medical Center; Medical Imaging - Radboud University Medical CenterAbstract
Hallucinogenic agents have been proposed as potent antidepressants; this includes the serotonin (5-HT) receptor 2A agonist psilocybin. In human subjects, psilocybin alters functional connectivity (FC) within the default-mode network (DMN), a constellation of inter-connected regions that displays altered FC in depressive disorders. In this study, we investigated the effects of psilocybin on FC across the entire brain with a view to investigate underlying mechanisms. Psilocybin effects were investigated in lightly-anaesthetized mice using resting-state fMRI. Dual-regression analysis identified reduced FC within the ventral striatum in psilocybin- relative to vehicle-treated mice. Refinement of the analysis using spatial references derived from both gene expression maps and viral tracer projection fields revealed two distinct effects of psilocybin: it increased FC between 5-HT-associated networks and cortical areas, including elements of the murine DMN, thalamus, and midbrain; it decreased FC within dopamine (DA)-associated striatal networks. These results suggest that interactions between 5-HT- and DA-regulated neural networks contribute to the neural and therefore psychological effects of psilocybin. Furthermore, they highlight how information on molecular expression patterns and structural connectivity can assist in the interpretation of pharmaco-fMRI findings.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [245400]
- Electronic publications [132943]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [93207]
- Open Access publications [106464]
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