Overview
- The peer-reviewed study published Thursday in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience finds that psilocybin reduced activity and escalated attack behavior in mangrove rivulus fish.
- Researchers at Acadia University and the University of British Columbia exposed focal fish to psilocybin in water for 20 minutes and then reintroduced them to the same rival to compare behavior before and after dosing.
- Fish with psilocybin in their system performed fewer high-energy swimming bursts, with lower-energy display behaviors largely unchanged.
- The team used three genetically distinct, self-fertilizing lines to limit genetic differences and quantified whole-body absorption in a separate line.
- The authors cautioned against extrapolating to people and urged follow-up work on serotonin pathways, repeated dosing, and long-term effects before any therapeutic claims.