MODULATION OF SYNAPTIC FUNCTION AND NEURONAL NETWORK ACTIVITY BY SEROTONERGIC PSYCHEDELICS

Serotonergic psychedelics (SP) such as psilocybin, LSD or DMT pose significant potential for development of new strategies in treating neuropsychiatric disorders including major depression disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. To bring these substances to clinical application, however, better understanding of the mechanisms behind their effects on many levels, including cellular and molecular, is necessary. Imaging studies in human following SP treatment as well as animal studies showed acute changes in neuronal activity and connectivity with sometimes contradictory findings.