Cited by 65Psychedelics and Drug StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Psilocybin and LSD have no long-lasting effects in an animal model of alcohol relapse

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Meinhardt, Marcus W., Güngör, Cansu, Skorodumov, Ivan, Mertens, Lea J., Spanagel, Rainer·2020·Neuropsychopharmacology

Abstract

For most psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), approved pharmacological treatments are limited in their effectiveness, and new drugs that can easily be translated into the clinic are needed. Currently, great hope lies in the potential of psychedelics to effectively treat AUD. The primary hypothesis is that a single session of psychedelic-guided psychotherapy can restore normal brain function in AUD individuals and thereby reduce the risk of relapse in the long run. Here we applied three different treatment schedules with psilocybin/LSD in order to investigate relapse-like drinking in the alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) model. In contrast to the primary hypothesis, psychedelics had no long-lasting effects on the ADE in male and female rats, neither when administered in a high dosage regime that is comparable to the one used in clinical studies, nor in a chronic microdosing scheme. Only sub-chronic treatment with psilocybin produced a short-lasting anti-relapse effect. However, it is not a translatable treatment option to give psychedelics sub-chronically for relapse prevention. In conclusion, our results in the ADE model do not support the hypothesis that microdosing or high doses of psychedelic reduce relapse behavior. This conclusion has to be confirmed by applying other animal models of AUD. It could also well be that animal models of AUD might be unable to fully capture the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and that only future large-scale clinical trials will be able to demonstrate the efficacy of psychedelics as a new treatment option for AUD.

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  1. Kupferschmidt K. High hopes. Science. 2014;345:18-23.
  2. Vengeliene V, Celerier E, Chaskiel L, Penzo F, Spanagel R. Compulsive alcohol drinking in rodents. Addict Biol. 2009;14:384-96.

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Authors
Meinhardt, M. W., Güngör, C., Skorodumov, I., Mertens, L. J., & Spanagel, R.
Affiliations
Heidelberg University (DE)
Corresponding author
Meinhardt, Marcus W.
Venue
Neuropsychopharmacology
Published
2020-05-05
Volume
45
Issue
8
Pages
1316-1322
ISSN
  • 0893-133X (ISSN-L)
  • 1740-634X
OpenAlex
W3020950088
Cited by
65
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 2
FWCI
3.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuropsychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01ZX1909A, 01EW1908)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (402170461 – TRR 265)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords
psilocybin, LSD, alcoholism, alcohol relapse, alcohol deprivation effect, psychedelics, microdosing, treatment schedule, animal models of alcoholism
MeSH terms
Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Hallucinogens, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Male, Psilocybin, Recurrence, Rats

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