Psilocybin facilitates fear extinction in mice by promoting hippocampal neuroplasticity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are highly comorbid. Psilocybin exerts substantial therapeutic effects on depression by promoting neuroplasticity. Fear extinction is a key process in the mechanism of first-line exposure-based therapies for PTSD. We hypothesized that psilocybin would facilitate fear extinction by promoting hippocampal neuroplasticity.

Methods

First, we assessed the effects of psilocybin on percentage of freezing time in an auditory cued fear conditioning (FC) and fear extinction paradigm in mice. Psilocybin was administered 30 min before extinction training. Fear extinction testing was performed on the first day; fear extinction retrieval and fear renewal were tested on the sixth and seventh days, respectively. Furthermore, we v

SUBMITTER: Du Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10752473 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature