Why serotonin itself does not do this
What they did
Using cultured nerve cells and genetically modified mice, researchers tested where the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor must sit for psychedelics to trigger neuronal growth.
What they found
Growth depends on receptors located inside the cell rather than on its surface. That explains why serotonin, which does not easily cross the cell membrane, fails to produce the same plasticity.
Worth knowing
Animal and cell work. It answers a mechanistic puzzle elegantly and says nothing about whether anyone feels better.
Vargas et al. Psychedelics promote neuroplasticity through the activation of intracellular 5-HT2A receptors. Science, 2023.
Read the sourceKeep reading
brain networksPsilocybin disrupted brain communication far more than a stimulantbrain networksBrains became less compartmentalised, and moods lifted with themdefault mode networkActivity went down, not upThis is where the word neuroplasticity comes from in psilocybin marketing. Worth reading the actual studies, because most of them were done in mice.
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