no longer available

Localization of 5-HT_2A receptors with brain circuit resolution in mouse tissue

5-HT_2A receptors are the major pharmacological target of psychedelics and expression of 5-HT_2A receptors in specific brain circuits presumably relates to specific drug effects. However, the exact location of 5-HT_2A receptor expression is a matter of ongoing debate. In this Master thesis project, the student develops a procedure to localize 5-HT_2A receptors in specific brain circuits, using mouse tissue. The methods will range from synaptosomal preparations, FACs sorting to binding assays. The results of this project will be relevant for the research group’s ongoing research on psilocybin-induced synaptic plasticity.

no longer available

Behavioral characteristics of mice under acute effects of psychedelics

Psychedelic compounds such as psilocybin and LSD induce hallucinatory effects in humans. In mice, a characteristic behavior arising from acute treatment with psychedelics is increased head twitching. Psychedelics doses for heat twitch rates in mice correlate with doses for hallucinatory effects in humans. Therefore, head twitching is commonly used as pre-clinical read-out for hallucinatory efficacy in drug development for psychedelics analogs. However, if head twitching best describes a hallucinatory-like experience in mice is unclear. The goal of this Master thesis is therefore the analysis of videos from mice under the influence of psilocybin and other psychedelics. Using manual experimenter scoring and advanced image analysis tools such as DeepLabCut, we aim to identify behavioral markers of psychedelics effects in mice. These markers will then be correlated with PK-data to establish a PK/PD relationship, informing about the validity of such markers for acute psychedelics effects.

no longer available

Psychedelic-induced changes in signaling molecules in the mouse brain

Psychedelics, such as psilocybin, are hallucinogenic drugs acting via the 5-HT_2A receptor. Psychedelics have the potential for the clinical application in mental disorders. Clinical trials are ongoing to investigate the therapeutic potential of psilocybin, but the mode of action is not well understood. It has been hypothesized that neuronal plasticity is involved in these effects, yet more research is needed to understand the cellular identity of involved neuronal networks. In this research project, mouse brain slices that were exposed to psychedelic compounds will be processed with immunofluorescence to visualized specific neuronal proteins. Subsequently, the slices will be imaged, and quantitative analysis of stained cells performed. The student will learn immunohistochemical staining of mouse brain tissue, microscopy and image analysis.