Psilocybin as a discriminative stimulus: Lack of specificity in an animal behavior model for ?hallucinogens?
Psychopharmacology February 1, 1982 DOI: 10.1007/bf00435266 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractRats can distinguish the tryptamine hallucinogen psilocybin from saline in a two-lever choice task. The psilocybin cue generalizes to psilocin and LSD, but not to mescaline, suggesting that the hallucinogenic effects of these drugs in humans may not align with their discriminative stimulus functions in animals, and that these compounds may not belong to a single drug class.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Animal discrimination study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Rats |
| Interventions | psilocybin psilocin LSD mescaline |
| Dose | 1.0 mg/kg |
| Topics | Mescaline Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Psychology Tryptamine |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key finding | The psilocybin cue generalized to psilocin and LSD, but not to mescaline, indicating these compounds may not be members of a single drug class. |
Abstract
Fifteen rats were trained to discriminate between the tryptamine hallucinogen psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine; 1.0 mg/kg) and saline in a two-lever choice task. Dose-response and time-response curves were obtained. The psilocybin cue generalized to psilocin (the dephosphorylated congener of psilocybin) and to the prototypical indoleamine hallucinogen LSD, but not to the phenylethylamine hallucinogen mescaline. These results indicate that the hallucinogenic effects of these drugs in humans may not be identical with their discriminative stimulus functions in animals, and that these four compounds may not be members of a single drug class. The term 'hallucinogen' may thus be a misnomer in the context of drug discrimination studies in nonhumans.