Thalamocortical glutamate release under psychedelics in rats 

Psychedelics are known to disrupt cortical dynamics, yet their impact on thalamo-cortical interactions remains poorly understood.
Here, we combine dual-site fibre photometry to track glutamatergic activity in prelimbic cortex alongside calcium dynamics in midline thalamus. 
Ongoing analyses indicate a coordinated reorganisation of cortical and thalamic activity, accompanied by reduced thalamo-cortical coupling. Notably, alterations in thalamic dynamics appear to precede cortical changes, pointing to a potential role of the thalamus in driving large-scale network effects.
Together, this work aims to bridge synaptic and systems-level accounts of psychedelic action by linking glutamatergic signalling to thalamo-cortical state dynamics.

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)