Researchers from the United States showed that D-Lizerginic acid diethylamide (LSD) affects the operation of the neurons of the hippocampus. This can explain changes in behavior after receiving the substance. The article of scientists was published in Cell Reports magazine.
In his experiment, scientists from the Medical College of Beilor were observed for the behavior and activity of the brain of mice, which were injected by LSD during their passing on a familiar C-shaped track. Researchers fixed the speed of animals and the number of circles covered by them. In addition, the impulse activity of neurons in the hippocampus and visual cerebral cortex was measured.
It turned out that the mouse leaving the mouse ran down fewer circles and moved much less of their relatives from the control group. The activity of neurons of hippocampus and visual bark – areas where the “map” of the area is formed in the brain – significantly decreased. In addition, LSD changed the patterns of activity of neurons that supported its functioning, including those that allowed the animal to choose the direction and coordinate the work of the hippocampus and the visual bark.
In addition, those who received LSD mice had more periods of inaction on the track, similar to the transition to sleep. “Perhaps the drug causes a condition similar to a half-time, during which there is a lot of activity, similar to that during sleep,” said one of the researchers, Professor Daoyun Ji.