Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41963345›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Sex-specific increased reactivity of the PVT and prolonged PVT→CeA circuit engagement following psilocin administration.

D P Effinger, J L Hoffman, S G Quadir, C S Rollison, D Toedt, M Echeveste Sanchez, M W High, C W Hodge, M A Herman

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

D P EffingerDepartment of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
J L HoffmanBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
S G QuadirBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4413-9920
C S RollisonBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
D ToedtBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-6824-9201
M Echeveste SanchezBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
M W HighBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
C W HodgeBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
M A HermanDepartment of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. melissa_herman@unc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7260-3439

Funding

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) GM135095U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) AA007573U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) AA030493
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The psychedelic psilocybin has shown therapeutic potential, yet underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We investigated the impact of psilocin-the active metabolite of psilocybin-on basal activity and reactivity within the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) and PVT projections to central amygdala (CeA) in rats. Psilocin administration increased PVT c-Fos expression and selectively engaged PVT→CeA neurons in females, but not males. Psilocin enhanced PVT reactivity to an aversive air-puff stimulus, with effects primarily driven by passive responders. In PVT→CeA neurons, psilocin prevented time-dependent reductions in stimulus-evoked activity and maintained reactivity across timepoints in females but not males. The sustained engagement of PVT→CeA circuitry was driven by active responders. These findings identify sex-specific modulation of thalamic-limbic circuitry and behavior by psilocin, implicating PVT→CeA circuitry in the neural and behavioral effects of psychedelic compounds, advancing our understanding of how psychedelics modulate emotional brain circuits to further inform potential therapeutic mechanisms.

Indexed as

Central Amygdaloid NucleusHallucinogensParaventricular Hypothalamic NucleusPsilocybinAnimalsFemaleMaleNeuronsProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyHallucinogensProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fospsilocinPsilocybin

Identifiers

PMID41963345
PMCPMC13246750

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.