Psilocybin rescues sociability deficits in an animal model of autism
Irene Mollinedo-Gajate, Chenchen Song, Marcos Sintes-Rodriguez, Tobias P. Whelan, Anaïs Soula, Aslihan Selimbeyoglu, Shaun Hurley, Thomas Knöpfel
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) September 10, 2020 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.09.289348 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractIn a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) created by prenatal exposure to valproic acid, the acute response to the serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin was reduced compared to controls. However, psilocybin treatment reversed the social behavior deficits that are characteristic of the ASD model. These findings suggest that psilocybin may have therapeutic potential for improving social interaction in ASD.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Animal model study |
|---|---|
| Population | Prenatal valproic acid exposure mouse model of ASD |
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Topics | Psilocybin Serotonin |
| Keywords | Autism spectrum disorder Hallucinogen Psychology |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key finding | Psilocybin rescued social behavioral abnormalities in the valproic acid mouse model of ASD. |
Abstract
Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by core deficits in social interaction. The classic serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin has been suggested as a therapeutic agent that may ameliorate in the core symptomology of ASD. We found that the acute response to psilocybin was attenuated in the prenatal valproic acid exposure mouse model of ASD, and importantly, psilocybin rescued the social behavioural abnormalities present in these ASD model mice.