Brain Circuits Behind Psychedelics’ Anti-Anxiety Power Decoded

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Brain Circuits Behind Psychedelics’ Anti-Anxiety Power Decoded

"The research shows that decoupling the beneficial effects of psychedelics from their hallucinogenic effects isn’t just a matter of chemical compound design. It’s a matter of targeted neural circuitry."

"To identify the specific neural circuits associated with anti-anxiety effects, the team used a molecular tagging tool called scFLARE2 to highlight the neurons activated by DOI in the medial prefrontal cortex — a brain region known to be involved in reducing anxious behavior in mice. 

The tagging allowed the team to isolate a psychedelic responsive network that extends beyond 5-HT2AR expressing neurons, the main receptor avenue through which psychedelics promote neuroplasticity."

"“Understanding which neural circuits psychedelics activate to elicit their effects is the kind of basic science needed to ultimately develop targeted therapeutics with better safety profiles,” Olson said"