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Odland AU, Kristensen JL, Andreasen JT. Animal Behavior in Psychedelic Research. Pharmacol Rev 2022; 74:1176-1205. [PMID: 36180111 DOI: 10.1124/pharmrev.122.000590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy holds great promise in the treatment of mental health disorders. Research into 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist psychedelic compounds has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In humans, these compounds produce drastic effects on consciousness, and their therapeutic potential relates to changes in the processing of emotional, social, and self-referential information. The use of animal behavior to study psychedelics is under debate, and this review provides a critical perspective on the translational value of animal behavior studies in psychedelic research. Acute activation of 5-HT2ARs produces head twitches and unique discriminative cues, disrupts sensorimotor gating, and stimulates motor activity while inhibiting exploration in rodents. The acute treatment with psychedelics shows discrepant results in conventional rodent tests of depression-like behaviors but generally induces anxiolytic-like effects and inhibits repetitive behavior in rodents. Psychedelics impair waiting impulsivity but show discrepant effects in other tests of cognitive function. Tests of social interaction also show conflicting results. Effects on measures of time perception depend on the experimental schedule. Lasting or delayed effects of psychedelics in rodent tests related to different behavioral domains appear to be rather sensitive to changes in experimental protocols. Studying the effects of psychedelics on animal behaviors of relevance to effects on psychiatric symptoms in humans, assessing lasting effects, publishing negative findings, and relating behaviors in rodents and humans to other more translatable readouts, such as neuroplastic changes, will improve the translational value of animal behavioral studies in psychedelic research. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin have received immense interest as potential new treatments of psychiatric disorders. Psychedelics change high-order consciousness in humans, and there is debate about the use of animal behavior studies to investigate these compounds. This review provides an overview of the behavioral effects of 5-HT2AR agonist psychedelics in laboratory animals and discusses the translatability of the effects in animals to effects in humans. Possible ways to improve the utility of animal behavior in psychedelic research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna U Odland
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Jesper L Kristensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Jesper T Andreasen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
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Miller MW. Leveraging genetics to enhance the efficacy of PTSD pharmacotherapies. Neurosci Lett 2020; 726:133562. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.04.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Revised: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Young MB, Norrholm SD, Khoury LM, Jovanovic T, Rauch SAM, Reiff CM, Dunlop BW, Rothbaum BO, Howell LL. Inhibition of serotonin transporters disrupts the enhancement of fear memory extinction by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:2883-2895. [PMID: 28741031 PMCID: PMC5693755 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4684-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 06/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) persistently improves symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when combined with psychotherapy. Studies in rodents suggest that these effects can be attributed to enhancement of fear memory extinction. Therefore, MDMA may improve the effects of exposure-based therapy for PTSD, particularly in treatment-resistant patients. However, given MDMA's broad pharmacological profile, further investigation is warranted before moving to a complex clinical population. OBJECTIVES We aimed to inform clinical research by providing a translational model of MDMA's effect, and elucidating monoaminergic mechanisms through which MDMA enhances fear extinction. METHODS We explored the importance of monoamine transporters targeted by MDMA to fear memory extinction, as measured by reductions in conditioned freezing and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) in mice. Mice were treated with selective inhibitors of individual monoamine transporters prior to combined MDMA treatment and fear extinction training. RESULTS MDMA enhanced the lasting extinction of FPS. Acute and chronic treatment with a 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) inhibitor blocked MDMA's effect on fear memory extinction. Acute inhibition of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) transporters had no effect. 5-HT release alone did not enhance extinction. Blockade of MDMA's effect by 5-HTT inhibition also downregulated 5-HT2A-mediated behavior, and 5-HT2A antagonism disrupted MDMA's effect on extinction. CONCLUSIONS We validate enhancement of fear memory extinction by MDMA in a translational behavioral model, and reveal the importance of 5-HTT and 5-HT2A receptors to this effect. These observations support future clinical research of MDMA as an adjunct to exposure therapy, and provide important pharmacological considerations for clinical use in a population frequently treated with 5-HTT inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Young
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Seth D Norrholm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Mental Health Service Line, Decatur, GA, USA
| | | | - Tanja Jovanovic
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Mental Health Service Line, Decatur, GA, USA
| | - Sheila A M Rauch
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
- Atlanta VA Medical Center, Mental Health Service Line, Decatur, GA, USA
| | - Collin M Reiff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Boadie W Dunlop
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Barbara O Rothbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Leonard L Howell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Rd NE #2101, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
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León LA, Castro-Gomes V, Zárate-Guerrero S, Corredor K, Mello Cruz AP, Brandão ML, Cardenas FP, Landeira-Fernandez J. Behavioral Effects of Systemic, Infralimbic and Prelimbic Injections of a Serotonin 5-HT 2A Antagonist in Carioca High- and Low-Conditioned Freezing Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:117. [PMID: 28736518 PMCID: PMC5500641 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) and 5-HT2A receptors in anxiety has been extensively studied, mostly without considering individual differences in trait anxiety. Our laboratory developed two lines of animals that are bred for high and low freezing responses to contextual cues that are previously associated with footshock (Carioca High-conditioned Freezing [CHF] and Carioca Low-conditioned Freezing [CLF]). The present study investigated whether ketanserin, a preferential 5-HT2A receptor blocker, exerts distinct anxiety-like profiles in these two lines of animals. In the first experiment, the animals received a systemic injection of ketanserin and were exposed to the elevated plus maze (EPM). In the second experiment, these two lines of animals received microinjections of ketanserin in the infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PL) cortices and were exposed to either the EPM or a contextual fear conditioning paradigm. The two rat lines exhibited bidirectional effects on anxiety-like behavior in the EPM and opposite responses to ketanserin. Both systemic and intra-IL cortex injections of ketanserin exerted anxiolytic-like effects in CHF rats but anxiogenic-like effects in CLF rats. Microinjections of ketanserin in the PL cortex also exerted anxiolytic-like effects in CHF rats but had no effect in CLF rats. These results suggest that the behavioral effects of 5-HT2A receptor antagonism might depend on genetic variability associated with baseline reactions to threatening situations and 5-HT2A receptor expression in the IL and PL cortices. Highlights -CHF and CLF rats are two bidirectional lines that are based on contextual fear conditioning.-CHF rats have a more "anxious" phenotype than CLF rats in the EPM.-The 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin had opposite behavioral effects in CHF and CLF rats.-Systemic and IL injections either decreased (CHF) or increased (CLF) anxiety-like behavior.-PL injections either decreased (CHF) anxiety-like behavior or had no effect (CLF).
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A. León
- Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, FFCLRP, São Paulo University, Campus USP, and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute (INeC)Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Programa de Psicología, Universidad Sergio ArboledaBogotá, Colombia
| | - Vitor Castro-Gomes
- Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Neuroscience, Department of Bio-systems Engineering, Federal University of São João del ReiSão João del Rei, Brazil
| | | | - Karen Corredor
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia y Comportamiento, Universidad de los AndesBogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Marcus L. Brandão
- Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, FFCLRP, São Paulo University, Campus USP, and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute (INeC)Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fernando P. Cardenas
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia y Comportamiento, Universidad de los AndesBogotá, Colombia
| | - J. Landeira-Fernandez
- Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Soares MC, Paula JR, Bshary R. Serotonin blockade delays learning performance in a cooperative fish. Anim Cogn 2016; 19:1027-30. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-016-0988-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2016] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 04/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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cis-3-Hexenol and trans-2-hexenal mixture prevents development of PTSD-like phenotype in rats. Behav Brain Res 2016; 297:251-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Revised: 10/03/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Tran L, Lasher BK, Young KA, Keele NB. Depletion of serotonin in the basolateral amygdala elevates glutamate receptors and facilitates fear-potentiated startle. Transl Psychiatry 2013; 3:e298. [PMID: 24002084 PMCID: PMC3784761 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2013.66] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2013] [Revised: 06/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Our previous experiments demonstrated that systemic depletion of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), similar to levels reported in patients with emotional disorders, enhanced glutamateric activity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) and potentiated fear behaviors. However, the effects of isolated depletion of 5-HT in the LA, and the molecular mechanisms underlying enhanced glutamatergic activity are unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that depletion of 5-HT in the LA induces increased fear behavior, and concomitantly enhances glutamate receptor (GluR) expression. Bilateral infusions of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (4 μg per side) into the LA produced a regional reduction of serotonergic fibers, resulting in decreased 5-HT concentrations. The induction of low 5-HT in the LA elevated fear-potentiated startle, with a parallel increase in GluR1 mRNA and GluR1 protein expression. These findings suggest that low 5-HT concentrations in the LA may facilitate fear behavior through enhanced GluR-mediated mechanisms. Moreover, our data support a relationship between 5-HT and glutamate in psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Tran
- Institute for Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - B K Lasher
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - K A Young
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple, TX, USA
- Neuropsychiatry Research Program, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, TX, USA
| | - N B Keele
- Institute for Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
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Yildirim BO, Derksen JJ. Systematic review, structural analysis, and new theoretical perspectives on the role of serotonin and associated genes in the etiology of psychopathy and sociopathy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:1254-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Revised: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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