The impact of psychedelics on neurodevelopment

This project investigates the reproductive safety, teratological risks, and therapeutic potential of prenatal psilocybin exposure and its interaction with a model of prenatal THC exposure, the main psychoactive component of Cannabis plant. The main objective is to evaluate whether psilocybin induces long-term alterations in maternal care or offspring neurodevelopment, or whether it can mitigate THC-induced cognitive-social deficits by acting on synaptic plasticity and the modulation of the serotonergic and endocannabinoid systems. Combining in vivo behavioral tests (NOR, OFT, SIT) with high-resolution molecular/epigenetic analyses (NanoString) on the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, the study aims to identify sex-specific molecular biomarkers for safety during pregnancy and novel therapeutic targets for treating neurodevelopmental disorders