Certain psychiatric medications, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be harmful during pregnancy and the postnatal period, having been shown to lead to birth defects and reduce helpful maternal behaviors. These factors may require birthing parents to temporarily stop taking such medications, but ceasing them may pose a risk to the parent. This presents an opportunity to explore the potential therapeutic effects of hallucinogens—which have been evaluated in recent studies on anxiety and compulsivity with promising results—and their influence on maternal behavior. In our study, we evaluate the effects of psilocybin on postnatal maternal behavior in rats. Some mothers received reduced nesting materials for their pups to create a model for limited resources and environmental stress seen in humans. 42 mother Sprague Dawley rats were treated with either psilocybin or vehicle on three occasions (postnatal days 3, 7, and 11) and their maternal behavior (licking, crouching, retrieval, etc.) was observed for 30 minutes. We hypothesize that psilocybin will increase the quality of maternal behavior in the limited nesting group. It is expected that the frequency and duration of these behaviors will increase, while their latency will decrease. Currently, data has been collected for all subjects, but it has yet to be fully analyzed; nevertheless, we are excited to continue the project and analyze the final results. If the desired results occur, this experiment may be a step toward recognizing psilocybin as a viable replacement for antidepressant medications during the postnatal period. As for personal significance, we believe that this research project will help us to grow in several different areas of life, including communication, teamwork, and investigation. Furthermore, the opportunity to work with rodent models and gain exposure to common behavioral neuroscience research techniques can benefit our futures in both the lab and the professional world.
Author(s): Hunter Wells, Psychology and Neuroscience Major
Advisor(s): Matthew McMurray, Department of Psychology
Oscar Sandoval, Department of Psychology
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