Preliminary research with psilocybin has shown its potential therapeutic efficacy as a treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorders. However, we do not know much about the drug’s pharmacological mechanisms and if related tryptamines, like norbaeocystin, could have similar efficacy or better when administered alone. We also were curious as to if norbaeocystin could alter psilocybin’s efficacy when administered together, known as an entourage effect. To study this, we decided to investigate the behavioral effects of psilocybin and norbaeocystin both alone and in combination. Using E. coli derived psilocybin and norbaeocystin, we administered varying doses of each drug via gavage directly into male rat subjects and then measured head twitch responses, locomotion, and body weight data. We found that psilocybin significantly increased head twitches in a dose-dependent manner while both psilocybin and norbaeocystin increased head twitches at all doses, suggesting there may be a pharmacological interaction occurring. As for locomotion, we found that only the two substances in combination increased locomotion at low doses, once again suggesting an interaction between the two. Finally, body weight data shows that neither substances alone or in combination caused significant weight loss or gain. All this together suggests that there is an entourage effect in psilocybin mushrooms and should be considered both alone and in combination in future therapeutic studies of the substance. As I continue my career, I plan to work with populations affected by mental health disorders and be an advocate for them, so having the opportunity to research a potential novel treatment that could revolutionize how we care for mental health has been extremely rewarding.
Authors: Piper Hamilton, Jordan Hinegardner-Hendricks
Faculty Advisor: Matthew S. McMurray, Psychology
Graduate Student Advisor: Niko Anas, Biology
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