Psilocybin’s 5-HT2A activation linked to lasting brain plasticity in mice
A mouse study shows psilocybin dose-dependently activates the brain’s 5-HT2A receptors in the prefrontal cortex, with an inverted-U relationship for acute behaviors. The following day, moderate doses reduced anxiety-like exploration and higher doses decreased depression-like immobility, coinciding with changes in microtubule dynamics and increased synaptic plasticity proteins—primarily in the prefrontal cortex, not the amygdala—suggesting a neural mechanism for lasting antidepressant effects, though results in animals may not directly translate to humans.