The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin on Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Posttraumatic Stress Using Rodent Animal Models

Drug addiction is a rapidly growing public health crisis in Canada. Death related to drug addiction is rising in Canada; especially opioid-related death was close to 3000 in 2016. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that affects 9% of Canadians, while death related to drug addiction is growing in Canada; especially opioid-related death was close to 3000 in 2016. Current treatment is less effective for these issues. It is urgent to develop novel pharmacotherapies to treat both conditions. Magic mushroom is a polyphyletic, informal group of fungi. Recently, researches have shown that Psilocybin is promising to treat mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. However, the exact drug mechanism of Psilocybin towards treating psychiatric disorders is unknown, and few laboratories explore this compound’s anti-addiction effect. As a result, this proposal aims to test if Psilocybin improves drug addiction and PTSD symptoms in animals. We expected that the Psilocybin could reduce the drug addictions and PTSD symptoms in animals.

Faculty Supervisor:

Yanbo Zhang;Xin-Min Li

Student:

Partner:

Pioneer Labs Corp

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Information and cultural industries

University:

University of Alberta

Program: