Psilocybin is the alkaloid responsible for the psychedelic effects found in various mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe and Stropharia. Recent clinical studies have demonstrated a rapid and sustained antidepressant effect generated by the administration of one or two doses of psilocybin in the context of psychotherapeutic treatment, in patients resistant to treatment with classic antidepressants and in terminal cancer patients. These shocking results have prompted advanced FDA-approved clinical studies being conducted in Europe and the USA. In turn, recent studies in preclinical models have characterized the effect of the antidepressant type of psilocybin using the Forced Swim Test, presenting itself in a sustained way over time after 8 weeks, after a single administration of psilocybin. Our research group is interested in deepening the study of the therapeutic potential of psilocybin in other preclinical models linked to depression and other psychiatric disorders (Figure 1). In this way, we intend to delve into the neurochemical mechanism behind these interesting and novel effects on animal behavior.

Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been used by pre-Columbian cultures for religious and spiritual reasons. The psychoactive effect of these mushrooms is due to the presence of alkaloids such as psilocybin and psilocin. These substances are present in numerous species of fungi that grow mainly in wood or manure, such as Psilocybe, Panaeolus and Conocybe. In the last decades, in different regions of the world, studies of the diversity of these groups have been carried out using genetic tools, which has led to the description of new species. Particularly in Uruguay, the study of the diversity of these groups has not been formally updated for 40 years, so there is no concrete knowledge of the quantity and identity of these species. Our group is focused on solving this question through the use of molecular tools and in the deepening of the characterization of the psychoactive alkaloid contents of each of the species found.