Short- and long-term reconfiguration of rat prefrontal cortical networks following single doses of psilocybin
Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: SUMMARY We quantify cellular- and circuit-resolution neural network dynamics following therapeutically relevant doses of the psychedelic psilocybin. Using chronically implanted Neuropixels probes, we recorded local field potentials (LFP) alongside action potentials from hundreds of neurons spanning infralimbic, prelimbic and cingulate subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex of freely-behaving adult rats. Psilocybin (0.3mg/kg or 1mg/kg i.p.) unmasked 100Hz high frequency oscillations that were most pronounced within the infralimbic cortex, persisted for approximately 1h post-injection and were accompanied by decreased net pyramidal cell firing rates and reduced signal complexity. These acute effects were more prominent during resting behaviour than during a sustained attention task. LFP 1-, 2- and 6-days post-psilocybin showed gradually-emerging increases in beta and low-gamma (20-60Hz) power, specific to the infralimbic cortex. These findings reveal features of psychedelic action not readily detectable in human brain imaging, implicating infralimbic network oscillations as potential biomarkers of psychedelic-induced network plasticity over multi-day timescales.
Authors: Ross J. Purple, Rahul Gupta, Christopher W. Thomas, Caroline T. Golden, Seán Froudist-Walsh, Matthew W. Jones
Institution: University of Bristol
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4405397191