Clinical trials on the use of psilocybin to treat depression are promising, but still in preliminary stages. Additionally, they are confounded by the presence of hallucinations, which may not be necessary for its clinical effectiveness but create significant challenges in experimental design. Thus, there is a need to determine if other tryptamines have similar molecular targets, but do not cause hallucinations. Our research group recently identified a novel E. coli-based method for synthesizing various novel tryptamines (i.e. norbaeocystin, aeruginascin, baeocystin, and psilocybin). When administered alone, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin did not cause behavioral responses (i.e. head twitch response) in rats at any dose, implying it may not cause hallucinations. However, when given in combination with psilocybin both increased behavioral responses, thus showing potential overlap. In this study we wanted to test the therapeutic potential of these tryptamines as an antidepressant in comparison to modern antidepressants (i.e. Prozac). To determine this, we administered these compounds via gavage in male Long Evans rats (n=50) where we used the forced swim test (FST) as a measure of antidepressant efficacy for these tryptamines. Using a one-way repeated measure ANOVA, we found that rats given these tryptamines had significantly decreased amounts of immobility time in comparison to our negative control rats in the FST (P<.05). Combined, these results suggest these tryptamines may have strong potential as an antidepressant alternative to modern antidepressants. Future studies will validate these effects in other behavioral models and look into the levels of protein expression when exposed to these tryptamines.
Authors: S.J. Loberger1, J.D. Crowder3, O.Sandoval1, B.F. Roberts1, G.E. Petryk1, J.A. Jones3, M.S. McMurray2; Departments of 1 Psychology and 2 Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH; 3 Department of Psychology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH.
Advisors: M.S McMurray, Psychology. J.A Jones, Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering
Graduate Advisors: Oscar Sandoval, Psychology Brianna Roberts, Psychology
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