Psilocybin-induced stimulus control in the rat

Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2007 Oct;87(4):472-80. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2007.06.003. Epub 2007 Jun 22.

Abstract

Although psilocybin has been trained in the rat as a discriminative stimulus, little is known of the pharmacological receptors essential for stimulus control. In the present investigation rats were trained with psilocybin and tests were then conducted employing a series of other hallucinogens and presumed antagonists. An intermediate degree of antagonism of psilocybin was observed following treatment with the 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist, M100907. In contrast, no significant antagonism was observed following treatment with the 5-HT(1A/7) receptor antagonist, WAY-100635, or the DA D(2) antagonist, remoxipride. Psilocybin generalized fully to DOM, LSD, psilocin, and, in the presence of WAY-100635, DMT while partial generalization was seen to 2C-T-7 and mescaline. LSD and MDMA partially generalized to psilocybin and these effects were completely blocked by M-100907; no generalization of PCP to psilocybin was seen. The present data suggest that psilocybin induces a compound stimulus in which activity at the 5-HT(2A) receptor plays a prominent but incomplete role. In addition, psilocybin differs from closely related hallucinogens such as 5-MeO-DMT in that agonism at 5-HT(1A) receptors appears to play no role in psilocybin-induced stimulus control.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Conditioning, Operant / drug effects
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Discrimination, Psychological / drug effects*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Generalization, Stimulus / drug effects*
  • Hallucinogens / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Hallucinogens / pharmacology*
  • Lysergic Acid Diethylamide / pharmacology
  • Male
  • N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine / pharmacology
  • Phencyclidine / pharmacology
  • Psilocybin / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Psilocybin / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Inbred F344
  • Reinforcement Schedule

Substances

  • Hallucinogens
  • Psilocybin
  • Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
  • Phencyclidine
  • N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine