PreprintCited by 12Psychedelics and Drug StudiesTreatment of Major DepressionNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Prolonged epigenetic and synaptic plasticity alterations following single exposure to a psychedelic in mice

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de la Fuente Revenga, Mario, Zhu, Bohan, Guevara, Christopher A., Naler, Lynette B., Saunders, Justin M., Zhou, Zirui, Toneatti, Rudy, Sierra, Salvador +5 more·2021·bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

Abstract

Clinical evidence suggests a potential therapeutic effect of classic psychedelics for the treatment of depression. The most outstanding and distinct characteristic is the rapid and sustained antidepressant action with one single exposure to the drug. However, the biological substrates and key mediators of psychedelics’ enduring action remain unknown. Here, we show that a single administration of the psychedelic DOI produced fast-acting effects on frontal cortex dendritic spine structure and acceleration of fear extinction via the 5-HT 2A receptor. Additionally, a single dose of DOI led to changes in chromatin organization particularly at enhancer regions of genes involved in synaptic assembly that stretched for days after the psychedelic exposure. DOI-induced alterations in neuronal epigenome overlapped with genetic loci associated with schizophrenia, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Together, these data support the notion that epigenetic-driven changes in synaptic plasticity operate as the mechanistic substrate of psychedelic’s long-lasting antidepressant action but also warn on the limitations in individuals with underlying risk for psychosis.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1101/2021.02.24.432725

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  • Ketamine and psychedelics modulate cortical neuron function by increasing dendritic spine and synapse density in the PFC.

    “Ketamine and psychedelics modulate cortical neuron function by increasing dendritic spine and synapse density in the PFC (129, 146–149)”

    From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [149]

    In “Psychedelics enhance cortical dendritic density via 5-HT2AR” (page unavailable), the paper reports that DOI increased thin and stubby dendritic spine density in frontal-cortex neurons of adult mice and enhanced synaptic plasticity. It does not report a ketamine experiment or directly establish an increase in synapse density, so those parts of the attributed claim are not supported by this paper. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The same DOI treatment evoked chromatin changes that persisted long after the DOI treatment.

    “The same treatment evoked chromatin changes that persisted long after the DOI treatment”
  • A single dose of DOI exerted rapid effects on dendritic spine structure in frontal cortex that were dependent on 5HT2A receptors.

    “In a recent rodent study, a single dose of DOI exerted rapid effects on the dendritic spine structure in frontal cortex that were dependent on 5HT2A receptors [109].”

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Authors
de la Fuente Revenga, M., Zhu, B., Guevara, C. A., Naler, L. B., Saunders, J. M., Zhou, Z., Toneatti, R., Sierra, S., Wolstenholme, J. T., Beardsley, P. M., Huntley, G. W., Lu, C., & González-Maeso, J.
Affiliations
  • Virginia Tech (US)
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
Corresponding author
Lu, Chang
Venue
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Publisher
openRxiv
Published
2021-02-25
OpenAlex
W3131550087
Cited by
11
References
87
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Locations
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (N01DA-17-8932, NIH-N01DA-17-8932, N01DA-19-8949, NIH-N01DA-19-8949)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (P50AA022537)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH111940, R01MH084894, T32MH020030, T32MH087004)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA033934)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB017235)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
psychedelics, digital object identifiers, 2C-B, epigenetic modifications, chromatin organization, synaptic plasticity, dendritic spines, fear extinction, 5-HT2A receptor, frontal cortex, schizophrenia risk, psychosis, depression

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