Psilocybin Lecture Slides

Question 1

psilocybin is ? similar to LSD

Answer 1

lipid soluble

Question 2

what happens when psilocybin is injected and not ingested?

Answer 2

high time is reduced by half the time

–> metabolites are effective so you need first past metabolism

Question 3

effects are ? dependent?

• what happens at a low dose (4-5mg)?
• what happens at a high dose (15+mg)?

Answer 3

dose

• social, warm, down to earth, grounded
• resembles LSD, prone to ‘bad’ trip

Question 4

all high ares how long? despite dose

Answer 4

• 2-5 hours

Question 5

what dose the set and setting have to do with taking psilocybin?

Answer 5

• “tone” of the trip is related to the environment, want to be in a calm chill place not aversive place

Question 6

is Psilocybin an agonist or an antagonist?

Answer 6

partial agonist

Question 7

what effects does it have on serotonin (5HT2a)

Answer 7

partial agonist: distorts time perception, timing, rythym
–> subjective feeling of time slowing down
–> inability to coordinate with any tempo above 2-2.5s
(prefrontal cortex)

Question 8

at a low dose what other effect dose it have resulting from interacting with serotonin?

Answer 8

increases sense of humour

Question 9

two speculations of interactions with dopamine and the basal ganglia

Answer 9

1. might involve timed performance (permissive hypothesis: excess serotonin creating excess dopamine, another problem, no affinity for the D2 receptor (inhibitory) )
2. responsible for relaxed feelings at low doses

Question 10

explain tolerance of psilocybin

- is there cross tolerance?

Answer 10

acute. 4-7 days to dissipate, take within that you wont get the same effects
- cross tolerance with LSD and Phenethylamines

Question 11

describe potentiation of psilocybin

–> potential complication for what?

Answer 11

when we inhibit the MAO receptors we get a longer high
–> complication for MDD, in MDD already on a MAO inhibitor so MAO will be all taken up with the psilocybin, your depression symptoms will rise

Question 12

is there observable dependence?

Answer 12

NO (ps Ems a loser)

Question 13

sometimes death occurs as a result of what?

Answer 13

mushroom misidentification

Question 14

3 therapeutic effects:

Answer 14

1. alleviation of OCD symptoms (study where ppl walked out of their houses for the first time in forever)
2. anxiolytics
3. increase mystical spiritual meaning. “good friday experiment”: lower chances of all bad stuff and toxicity

Question 15

the therapeutic effects are due to the reduction of?

Answer 15

5HT2a receptors

Question 16

what is ibotonic acid?
what is it structurally similar too?
what is it functionally similar too?

Answer 16

• type of mushroom
• glutamate (non glutamate receptor agonist)
• acetylcholine (agonist to NDMA)

Question 17

what is the metabolite of ibotonic acid? is it active?

Answer 17

muscimol, YES

Question 18

when ibotonic acid is ingested, what are the subjective and objective effects?

Answer 18

subjective: euphoria and vivid coloured hallucinations
objective: sedation and dissociation, exitotoxicity leading to small seizures in brain = brain damage

Question 19

what [protects against exictotoxicity? how?

Answer 19

dextromethorpan. has a low affinity binding antagonism