Biology subjects

Jefferson, S. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Jefferson, S. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Enhancing cGMP signaling with psilocybin reduces head twitch and restructures the synaptic proteome while maintaining antidepressant response

Psilocybin has antidepressant effects, but its 5-HT2AR-mediated perceptual effects limit tolerability. We combined psilocybin with a phosphodiesterase-9 inhibitor (PDE9i) and observed suppression of head-twitch response, but maintenance of antidepressant-like behavior. Proteomics showed that PDE9i-psilocybin reduced 5-HT2AR-mediated pathways while enhancing synaptogenesis. These results suggest that PDE9i-psilocybin represents a promising therapeutic strategy.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

MDMA enhances prefrontal plasticity and representational drift during fear extinction

Fear extinction requires dynamic updating of cortical representations, yet the neural mechanisms underlying successful extinction remain poorly understood. Some psychoactive substances induce structural plasticity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), possibly underlying their therapeutic potential. Here we investigated whether MDMA, which enhances fear extinction, induces prefrontal structural and functional plasticity, and measured its effects on ensemble representations during extinction. Longitudinal two-photon microscopy revealed that MDMA increased spine density and spinogenesis across prefrontal subregions. Miniscope Ca{superscript 2} imaging in infralimbic cortex (IL) during fear extinction revealed that IL became more correlated with the suppression of freezing behavior, consistent with a strengthening of its role in extinction. Longitudinal cell registration demonstrated accelerated representational drift across days in MDMA-treated mice; this effect was strongest in a functionally defined subpopulation of neurons that showed suppression of activity to conditioned cues. These findings demonstrate that MDMA facilitates structural and functional neuroplasticity, potentially underlying its enhancement of extinction learning.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

5-MeO-DMT modifies innate behaviors and promotes structural neural plasticity in mice

Serotonergic psychedelics are gaining increasing interest as potential therapeutics for a range of mental illnesses. Compounds with short-lived subjective effects may be clinically useful because dosing time would be reduced, which may improve patient access. One short-acting psychedelic is 5-MeO-DMT, which has been associated with improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms in early clinical studies. However relatively little is known about the behavioral effects and neural mechanisms of 5-MeO-DMT in animal models. Here we characterized the effects of 5-MeO-DMT on innate behaviors and dendritic architecture in mice. We showed that 5-MeO-DMT induces a dose-dependent increase in head-twitch response that is shorter in duration than that induced by psilocybin at all doses tested. 5-MeO-DMT also substantially suppresses social ultrasonic vocalizations produced during mating behavior. 5-MeO-DMT produces long-lasting increases in dendritic spine density in the mouse medial frontal cortex that are driven by an elevated rate of spine formation. However, unlike psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT did not affect the size of dendritic spines. These data provide insights into the behavioral and neural consequences underlying the action of 5-MeO-DMT and highlight similarities and differences with those of psilocybin.

neuroscience↗