Adeyinka Dotun, Forsyth Dayna, Currie Suzanne, Faraone Nicoletta
Department of Chemistry, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada.
Department of Biology, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada.
Front Syst Neurosci. 2025 Aug 5;19:1585367. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2025.1585367. eCollection 2025.
Psilocybin, a compound found in mushrooms, is emerging as a promising treatment for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder. Its potential therapeutic effects stem from promoting neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity, key factors in brain health. Psilocybin could help combat mild neurodegeneration by increasing synaptic density and supporting neuronal growth. With low risk for addiction and adverse effects, it presents a safe option for long-term use, setting it apart from traditional treatments. Despite their relatively simpler neuronal networks, studies using animal models, such as and fish, have provided essential insights on the efficacy and mechanism of action of psilocybin. These models provide foundational information that guides more focused investigations, facilitating high-throughput screening, enabling researchers to quickly explore the compound's effects on neural development, behavior, and underlying genetic pathways. While mammalian models are indispensable for comprehensive studies on psilocybin's pharmacokinetics and its nuanced interactions within the complex nervous systems, small non-mammalian models remain valuable for identifying promising targets and mechanisms at early research stages. Together, these animal systems offer a complementary approach to drive rapid hypothesis generation to refine our understanding of psilocybin as a candidate for not only halting but potentially reversing neurodegenerative processes. This integrative strategy highlights the transformative potential of psilocybin in addressing neurodegenerative disorders, leveraging both small and mammalian models to achieve translational research success.
裸盖菇素是一种存在于蘑菇中的化合物，正逐渐成为治疗神经退行性疾病和精神疾病（包括重度抑郁症）的一种有前景的疗法。其潜在的治疗效果源于促进神经保护、神经发生和神经可塑性，这些都是大脑健康的关键因素。裸盖菇素可以通过增加突触密度和支持神经元生长来帮助对抗轻度神经退行性变。由于成瘾风险和副作用较低，它是一种长期使用的安全选择，这使其有别于传统治疗方法。尽管鱼类等动物模型的神经元网络相对简单，但利用这些模型进行的研究为裸盖菇素的功效和作用机制提供了重要见解。这些模型提供了基础信息，指导更有针对性的研究，促进高通量筛选，使研究人员能够快速探索该化合物对神经发育、行为和潜在遗传途径的影响。虽然哺乳动物模型对于全面研究裸盖菇素的药代动力学及其在复杂神经系统中的细微相互作用不可或缺，但小型非哺乳动物模型在早期研究阶段识别有前景的靶点和机制方面仍然很有价值。总之，这些动物系统提供了一种互补的方法，以推动快速产生假设，从而深化我们对裸盖菇素作为一种不仅可以阻止而且可能逆转神经退行性过程的候选药物的理解。这种综合策略突出了裸盖菇素在解决神经退行性疾病方面的变革潜力，利用小型和哺乳动物模型来实现转化研究的成功。
