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Lysergic acid diethylamide induces increased signalling entropy in rats’ prefrontal cortex
Author(s) -
Savino Aurora,
Nichols Charles D.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/jnc.15534
Subject(s) - lysergic acid diethylamide , prefrontal cortex , signalling , neuroscience , entropy (arrow of time) , synaptic plasticity , neuroplasticity , psychology , biology , receptor , cognition , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , serotonin , physics , quantum mechanics
Psychedelic drugs are gaining attention from the scientific community as potential new compounds for the treatment of psychiatric diseases such as mood and substance use disorders. The 5‐HT 2A receptor has been identified as the main molecular target, and early studies pointed to an effect on the expression of neuroplasticity genes. Analysing RNA‐seq data from the prefrontal cortex of rats chronically treated with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), we describe the psychedelic‐induced rewiring of gene co‐expression networks, which become less centralised but more complex, with an overall increase in signalling entropy typical of highly plastic systems. Intriguingly, signalling entropy mirrors, at the molecular level, the increased brain entropy reported through neuroimaging studies in human, suggesting the underlying mechanisms of higher‐order phenomena. Moreover, from the analysis of network topology, we identify potential transcriptional regulators and propose the involvement of different cell types in psychedelics’ activity.