The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> MEDICINE >> NEWS
Mechanism of hallucinogens' effects discovered

The brain mechanism underlying the mind-bending effects of hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin has been discovered by neuroscientists. They said their discoveries not only shed light on the longtime mystery of how hallucinogens work, but that the findings also offer a pathway to understanding the function of drugs used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders, which are now being used largely without an understanding of their fundamental mechanism.

Stuart Sealfon, Jay Gingrich, and colleagues published their findings in the February 1, 2007 issue of the journal Neuron, published by Cell Press.

Researchers have long known that hallucinogens activate specific receptors in the brain, called 5-HT2A receptors (2ARs), that are normally triggered by the neurotransmitter serotonin. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that one brain cell launches at receptors on another to trigger a nerve impulse in the receiving cell. However, a fundamental mystery has been why other compounds that activate the same receptors are not hallucinogenic.

In their studies, the researchers compared the differences between the effects of LSD and a nonhallucinogenic chemical that also activates 2AR receptors on the mouse neural machinery. Since the animals could not report the kinds of perception-altering effects that humans experience on hallucinogens, the researchers determined hallucinogenic properties by measuring a head twitch response the mice characteristically showed when under hallucinogens but not when under nonhallucinogens.

The scientists concentrated their studies on the cortex of the brain, which earlier studies had shown to be the center for action of the hallucinogens. Their analysis revealed that LSD produced genetic, electrophysiological, and internal cellular signaling responses that were distinctively different from those induced by a nonhallucinogenic compound.

They also explored whether 2ARs were central to the halluc
'"/>

Contact: Erin Doonan
edoonan@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
31-Jan-2007


Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. Mechanism of black cohosh versus hot flashes revealed
2. Mechanism identified for promising neurological drug
3. Mechanism for neurodenegerative diseases linked to transport proteins
4. Mechanism controlling DNA damage response has potential novel medical applications
5. Low-carb diets effects linked to rise in newly identified starvation hormone
6. Researchers find deadly prescription drug effects 6 years before FDA
7. New long-term data analyses for Bifeprunox show favorable effects vs. placebo
8. Chemical maps hint at drugs effects on schizophrenia
9. Agent protects cells from lethal effects of radiation even if given after exposure
10. OCT1 required for therapeutic effects of diabetes drug Metformin
11. Online book helps children understand the effects of stroke
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Mechanism hallucinogens effects discovered

(Date:9/8/2008)...aser scalpels, arthroscopic,surgery, genomic resea...rinary medicine is quickly expanding into new high...e benefit; it,s improving medicine for,people, too... care for their pets to,treat diseases like diabet... according to the American Veterinary Medical Asso...
(Date:9/8/2008)...zine examines Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, strug..., Washington, DC (PRWEB) S...by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars about... addiction disorders are featured in the current i...ublication of the National Council for Community B...
(Date:9/7/2008)...f older patients successfully treated for colorect...le to detect any recurrence of cancer. The study, ... , a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer ...monitoring of colorectal cancer survivors could af...y curative surgery for colorectal cancer have an i...
(Date:9/7/2008)... appear to lower a man,s PSA level, the blood biom...her a man is at risk of prostate cancer. , But t.... 8 in the journal Cancer , caution that men shou... prostate cancer just yet. , "We showed that me...rin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:High-Tech Vet Medicine Saving Lives of Pets and People 2Health News:Helping Veterans in Our Communities 2Health News:Helping Veterans in Our Communities 3Health News:Many colorectal cancer survivors do not receive recommended follow-up care 2Health News:Common painkillers lower levels of prostate cancer biomarker 2
Other News:
... food allergy and other topics related to allergic...ting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma an...n San Francisco. The 2004 Annual Meeting entitled,...han 7,000 allergist/immunologists, allied health p...
...ittsburgh has been awarded an estimated $14.5 mill...tute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health ...rove the outcomes of pediatric heart transplant re...ersity of Pittsburgh as a Specialized Center of Cl...
...ws Place, London NW1 4LE...Monday 1 March Tuesday...1 March ......You are invited to attend the only c...t. It is organised by the Teenage Cancer Trust, th...cus on the most neglected group of cancer patients...
...ers at University College London (UCL) has shown t...e same specific regions of the brain, and lead to ...ritical social assessment of other people and nega...is closely familiar with a person, the need to ass...
health news:Pitt receives $14.5 million from NIH to improve pediatric heart transplantation outcomes 2health news:Pitt receives $14.5 million from NIH to improve pediatric heart transplantation outcomes 3health news:Pitt receives $14.5 million from NIH to improve pediatric heart transplantation outcomes 4health news:Update: Third International Conference on Cancer and the Adolescent 2health news:UCL study establishes common biological ground for maternal and romantic love in humans 2
...When ancient whales finally parted company with th...rs ago, a relatively sudden genetic event may have...nternational group of scientists led by Hans Thewi...n Ohio Universities College of Medicine, has used ...
...Princeton, N.J. In findings that could influence ...esearch team has learned that tropical forests ret... receive each year, thanks to a particular type of...bacteria, referred to as "denitrifiers," exist in ...
...Rainforests and savannas contain 70% of the world'...net. A new 1.6m international project involving re...tute is looking at the impact of global warming on... we may be at the start of a vicious cycle, where ...
ST. PAUL, Minn. Eighteen years later, people who worked with lead have significant loss of brain cells and damage to brain tissue, according to a new study published in the May 23, 2006, issue of Neu
How ancient whales lost their legs, got sleek and conquered the oceans 2How ancient whales lost their legs, got sleek and conquered the oceans 3The vicious cycle of rainforest destruction 2Lead exposure leads to brain cell loss and damage years later 2
FISH PROFILING MAY HELP PREVENT FUTURE GREAT LAKES INVASIONS...Suspect profiling is a commonly used technique in the fight against crime. Now, according to a study reported in the November 8th issue o
...e of Nature, Bioengineers at the University of Cal...ring used their computer model of E-coli (patent p...ld evolve under specific conditions. The results ...ological materials for commercial uses or for pred...
...ota researchers, with collaborators at the U.S. De...Center in Ames, Iowa, have completed sequencing th...se, a major chronic wasting disease found in dairy...osis, is considered one of the most important thre...
...f photosynthesis is one of nature's most important... question that molecular biology has first posed, ...otosynthesis is a very complex set of interdepende...rofessor of biochemistry at Arizona State Universi...
Fish profiling to stop ANS; dye test for fish disease; reauthorization 2Fish profiling to stop ANS; dye test for fish disease; reauthorization 3Fish profiling to stop ANS; dye test for fish disease; reauthorization 4Fish profiling to stop ANS; dye test for fish disease; reauthorization 5UCSD bioengineers use computer model to predict evolution of bacteria 2UCSD bioengineers use computer model to predict evolution of bacteria 3Scientists crack genome sequence of major dairy pathogen 2Scientists crack genome sequence of major dairy pathogen 3Photosynthesis analysis shows work of ancient genetic engineering 2Photosynthesis analysis shows work of ancient genetic engineering 3Photosynthesis analysis shows work of ancient genetic engineering 4