1
|
Pouyan N, Younesi Sisi F, Kargar A, Scheidegger M, McIntyre RS, Morrow JD. The effects of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) on the Positive Valence Systems: A Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)-Informed Systematic Review. CNS Drugs 2023; 37:1027-1063. [PMID: 37999867 PMCID: PMC10703966 DOI: 10.1007/s40263-023-01044-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The renewed interest in psychedelic research provides growing evidence of potentially unique effects on various aspects of reward processing systems. Using the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, as proposed by the National Institute of Mental Health, we aim to synthesize the existing literature concerning the impact of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on the RDoC's Positive Valence Systems (PVS) domain, and to identify potential avenues for further research. METHODS Two LSD-related terms (lysergic acid diethylamide and LSD) and 13 PVS-related terms (reward, happiness, bliss, motivation, reinforcement learning, operant, conditioning, satisfaction, decision making, habit, valence, affect, mood) were used to search electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, PsychINFO, and Web of Science for relevant articles. A manual search of the reference list resulted in nine additional articles. After screening, articles and data were evaluated and included based on their relevance to the objective of investigating the effects of LSD on the PVS. Articles and data were excluded if they did not provide information about the PVS, were observational in nature, lacked comparators or reference groups, or were duplicates. A risk of bias assessment was performed using the National Toxicology Program's Office of Health Assessment and Translation (NTP OHAT) risk of bias (RoB) tool. Data from the included articles were collected and structured based on the RDoC bio-behavioral matrix, specifically focusing on the PVS domain and its three constituent constructs: reward responsiveness, reward learning, and reward valuation. RESULTS We reviewed 28 clinical studies with 477 participants. Lysergic acid diethylamide, assessed at self-report (23 studies), molecular (5 studies), circuit (4 studies), and paradigm (3 studies) levels, exhibited dose-dependent mood improvement (20 short-term and 3 long-term studies). The subjective and neural effects of LSD were linked to the 5-HT2A receptor (molecular). Animal studies (14 studies) suggested LSD could mildly reinforce conditioned place preference without aversion and reduce responsiveness to other rewards. Findings on reward learning were inconsistent but hinted at potential associative learning enhancements. Reward valuation measures indicated potential reductions in effort expenditure for other reinforcers. CONCLUSION Our findings are consistent with our previous work, which indicated classical psychedelics, primarily serotonin 2A receptor agonists, enhanced reward responsiveness in healthy individuals and patient populations. Lysergic acid diethylamide exhibits a unique profile in the reward learning and valuation constructs. Using the RDoC-based framework, we identified areas for future research, enhancing our understanding of the impact of LSD on reward processing. However, applying RDoC to psychedelic research faces limitations due to diverse study designs that were not initially RDoC-oriented. Limitations include subjective outcome measure selection aligned with RDoC constructs and potential bias in synthesizing varied studies. Additionally, some human studies were open-label, introducing potential bias compared to randomized, blinded studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niloufar Pouyan
- Michigan Psychedelic Center (M-PsyC), and Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC), University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS), University of Michigan Medical School, 1135 Catherine Street, Box 5619, 2960 Taubman Health Science Library, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Aracell Zist Darou pharmaceutical, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Farnaz Younesi Sisi
- Yaadmaan Institute for Brain, Cognition and Memory Studies, Tehran, Iran
- Cognitive Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
| | - Alireza Kargar
- Cognitive Neurology and Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Milan Scheidegger
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roger S McIntyre
- Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit (MDPU), University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Jonathan D Morrow
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, and Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS), University of Michigan Medical School, 1135 Catherine Street, Box 5619, 2960 Taubman Health Science Library, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Odland AU, Kristensen JL, Andreasen JT. Animal Behavior in Psychedelic Research. Pharmacol Rev 2022; 74:1176-1205. [PMID: 36180111 DOI: 10.1124/pharmrev.122.000590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy holds great promise in the treatment of mental health disorders. Research into 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonist psychedelic compounds has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In humans, these compounds produce drastic effects on consciousness, and their therapeutic potential relates to changes in the processing of emotional, social, and self-referential information. The use of animal behavior to study psychedelics is under debate, and this review provides a critical perspective on the translational value of animal behavior studies in psychedelic research. Acute activation of 5-HT2ARs produces head twitches and unique discriminative cues, disrupts sensorimotor gating, and stimulates motor activity while inhibiting exploration in rodents. The acute treatment with psychedelics shows discrepant results in conventional rodent tests of depression-like behaviors but generally induces anxiolytic-like effects and inhibits repetitive behavior in rodents. Psychedelics impair waiting impulsivity but show discrepant effects in other tests of cognitive function. Tests of social interaction also show conflicting results. Effects on measures of time perception depend on the experimental schedule. Lasting or delayed effects of psychedelics in rodent tests related to different behavioral domains appear to be rather sensitive to changes in experimental protocols. Studying the effects of psychedelics on animal behaviors of relevance to effects on psychiatric symptoms in humans, assessing lasting effects, publishing negative findings, and relating behaviors in rodents and humans to other more translatable readouts, such as neuroplastic changes, will improve the translational value of animal behavioral studies in psychedelic research. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin have received immense interest as potential new treatments of psychiatric disorders. Psychedelics change high-order consciousness in humans, and there is debate about the use of animal behavior studies to investigate these compounds. This review provides an overview of the behavioral effects of 5-HT2AR agonist psychedelics in laboratory animals and discusses the translatability of the effects in animals to effects in humans. Possible ways to improve the utility of animal behavior in psychedelic research are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna U Odland
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Jesper L Kristensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Jesper T Andreasen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Elsilä LV, Harkki J, Enberg E, Martti A, Linden AM, Korpi ER. Effects of acute lysergic acid diethylamide on intermittent ethanol and sucrose drinking and intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6 mice. J Psychopharmacol 2022; 36:860-874. [PMID: 35695174 PMCID: PMC9247434 DOI: 10.1177/02698811221104641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychedelics, like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), are again being studied as potential therapies for many neuropsychiatric disorders, including addictions. At the same time, the acute effects of psychedelics on rewarding behaviours have been scarcely studied. AIMS The current study aimed to clarify if LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, and whether the observed acute effects on ethanol consumption are generalizable to a natural reinforcer, sucrose, and if the effects resulted from aversive or reward-attenuating effects caused by LSD. METHODS The effects of acute LSD were examined using 2-bottle choice intermittent ethanol (20%) and sucrose drinking (10%), discrete-trial current-intensity threshold method of intracranial self-stimulation and short-term feeding behaviour assay in C57BL/6 male mice. RESULTS The results showed that acute 0.1 mg/kg, but not 0.05 mg/kg, dose (i.p.) of LSD reduced 2-h intermittent ethanol drinking transiently without any prolonged effects. No effects were seen in intermittent 2-h sucrose drinking. The tested LSD doses had neither effect on the intracranial self-stimulation current-intensity thresholds, nor did LSD affect the threshold-lowering, or rewarding, effects of simultaneous amphetamine treatment. Furthermore, LSD had small, acute diminishing effects on 2-h food and water intake. CONCLUSIONS Based on these results, LSD decreases binge-like ethanol drinking in mice, but only acutely. This effect is not likely to stem from reward-attenuating effects but could be in part due to reduced consummatory behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauri V Elsilä
- Lauri V Elsilä, Department of
Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 63
(Haartmaninkatu 8), Biomedicum Helsinki, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Openshaw RL, Pratt JA, Morris BJ. The schizophrenia risk gene Map2k7 regulates responding in a novel contingency-shifting rodent touchscreen gambling task. Dis Model Mech 2022; 15:274684. [PMID: 35275161 PMCID: PMC8922023 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In schizophrenia, subjects show reduced ability to evaluate and update risk/reward contingencies, showing correspondingly suboptimal performance in the Iowa gambling task. JNK signalling gene variants are associated with schizophrenia risk, and JNK modulates aspects of cognition. We therefore studied the performance of mice hemizygous for genetic deletion of the JNK activator MKK7 (Map2k7+/- mice) in a touchscreen version of the Iowa gambling task, additionally incorporating a novel contingency-switching stage. Map2k7+/- mice performed slightly better than wild-type (WT) littermates in acquisition and performance of the task. Although Map2k7+/- mice adapted well to subtle changes in risk/reward contingencies, they were profoundly impaired when the positions of 'best' and 'worst' choice selections were switched, and still avoided the previous 'worst' choice location weeks after the switch. This demonstrates a precise role for MKK7-JNK signalling in flexibility of risk/reward assessment and suggests that genetic variants affecting this molecular pathway may underlie impairment in this cognitive domain in schizophrenia. Importantly, this new contingency shift adaptation of the rodent touchscreen gambling task has translational utility for characterising these cognitive subprocesses in models of neuropsychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca L Openshaw
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Judith A Pratt
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
| | - Brian J Morris
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Märcher Rørsted E, Jensen AA, Kristensen JL. 25CN-NBOH: A Selective Agonist for in vitro and in vivo Investigations of the Serotonin 2A Receptor. ChemMedChem 2021; 16:3263-3270. [PMID: 34288515 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202100395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
4-(2-((2-hydroxybenzyl)amino)ethyl)-2,5-dimethoxybenzonitrile (25CN-NBOH) was first reported as a potent and selective serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2A R) agonist in 2014, and it has since found extensive use as a pharmacological tool in a variety of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies. 25CN-NBOH is readily available from a synthetic perspective using standard chemical transformations, and displays favorable physiochemical properties in terms of stability and solubility. Due to its superior selectivity for 5-HT2A R, 25CN-NBOH has been used to investigate the effects of selective 5-HT2A R activation in vivo, and has thus become an important pharmacological tool for the exploration of 5-HT2A R signaling in a range of animal models. In the present review, we outline the discovery of 25CN-NBOH, its pharmacological profile and major findings from studies where it has been used.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emil Märcher Rørsted
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Anders A Jensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Jesper L Kristensen
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 2, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Lopez-Cruz L, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM, Heath CJ. Using touchscreen-delivered cognitive assessments to address the principles of the 3Rs in behavioral sciences. Lab Anim (NY) 2021; 50:174-184. [PMID: 34140683 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-021-00791-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite considerable advances in both in silico and in vitro approaches, in vivo studies that involve animal model systems remain necessary in many research disciplines. Neuroscience is one such area, with studies often requiring access to a complete nervous system capable of dynamically selecting between and then executing a full range of cognitive and behavioral outputs in response to a given stimulus or other manipulation. The involvement of animals in research studies is an issue of active public debate and concern and is therefore carefully regulated. Such regulations are based on the principles of the 3Rs of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. In the sub-specialty of behavioral neuroscience, Full/Absolute Replacement remains a major challenge, as the complete ex vivo recapitulation of a system as complex and dynamic as the nervous system has yet to be achieved. However, a number of very positive developments have occurred in this area with respect to Relative Replacement and to both Refinement and Reduction. In this review, we discuss the Refinement- and Reduction-related benefits yielded by the introduction of touchscreen-based behavioral assessment apparatus. We also discuss how data generated by a specific panel of behavioral tasks developed for this platform might substantially enhance monitoring of laboratory animal welfare and provide robust, quantitative comparisons of husbandry techniques to define and ensure maintenance of best practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Lopez-Cruz
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christopher J Heath
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| |
Collapse
|