By Study Details
Researchers at Colorado State University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences recently determined that certain lab mice, when exposed to psilocybin, experienced reduced cravings for fentanyl. Notably, the effect was only observed in female mice. The study was published in August in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
The researchers also found that the psychedelic did not cause anxiety-like behaviors in the mice. The work was led by first author Tiffini Lovell, a CSU biomedical sciences Ph.D. student.
Dr. Ana Clara Bobadilla, assistant biomedical sciences professor, co-authored the study.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that causes more drug overdoses in the U.S. than any other substance. The study examined whether psilocybin could affect fentanyl-related behaviors in an animal model.
Researcher Reactions
“It is very exciting to see that fentanyl-related behaviors can respond to psychedelic compounds, especially given how serious the opioid crisis is in our country,” Tiffini Lovell said in a statement. She added that “some of the interesting sex differences revealed in this work also raise important questions about the complexity of female biology and the role of hormones in why individuals may respond differently to psychedelics.”
“We do not yet know exactly how psychedelics work, and the effects have been described as similar to how rebooting a computer can restore function,” said Dr. Ana Clara Bobadilla, assistant biomedical sciences professor and co-author of the study. She noted that “one thing we do know is that psychedelics can increase neuroplasticity, while in addiction, repeated drug exposure creates strong, inflexible pathways in the brain.”
“So, one hypothesis is that psychedelics can activate and open other networks and pathways that the brain can take,” Bobadilla said. The researchers described this hypothesis as one possible explanation for the observed results.
Why It Matters
The findings suggest that psilocybin influenced fentanyl-related behaviors in a preclinical model. The sex-specific effect observed in female mice indicates that responses to psychedelics may vary between males and females.
The study’s authors said the sex differences raise questions about the role of hormones in individual responses to psychedelic compounds. The research was conducted in mice, and the results have not been demonstrated in humans.
The study contributes to ongoing scientific interest in psychedelics as potential tools in addressing addiction. The researchers did not state a timeline for any follow-up work.
