Tobias Buchborn | Systems Neuroscientist
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Psilocybin in rat alcohol-seeking behaviour

Psychedelics have been proposed to alter maladaptive behavioural patterns, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
Here, we use established alcohol-seeking paradigms in rats to examine how psilocybin affects behaviour under conditions involving aversive revaluation.
Ongoing analyses suggest that psilocybin alters the balance between reward- and aversion-related processes, pointing to a potential shift in behavioural control.
Together, this work aims to link psychedelic 5-HT2A receptor activation to changes in learning and decision-making processes relevant to addiction, bridging behavioural effects with underlying circuit- and molecular-level mechanisms.

Funding: Seed funding, Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH), Mannheim
Institution: Laboratory for Translational Psychopharmacology, Institute of Psychopharmacology, CIMH, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg (Germany)
© 2026 Tobias Buchborn
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