{
  "id": 9564247,
  "title": "Psilocybin restores social drive in an autism mouse model even under anesthesia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/psilocybin-restores-social-drive-in-an-autism-mouse-model-even-under",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T14:00:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/psilocybin-restores-social-drive-in-an-autism-mouse-model-even-under-anesthesia/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A single dose of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in certain species of hallucinogenic mushrooms, has been found to increase social behavior in mice with genetic traits related to autism, even under anesthesia. This finding comes from research conducted by investigators at Nanyang Technological University Singapore and Hong Kong Baptist University, and is published in Nature Communications. The study used a mouse model of autism, which displays reduced sociability, hyperactivity, and repetitive behaviors. The researchers injected 30 adult mice with either psilocybin or a saline solution, and observed that the psilocybin-treated mice displayed an increased preference for the social cup in a behavioral test one day after the injection and lasting for at least two weeks. This suggests that the drug specifically improved the animals' social motivation rather than merely increasing their general desire to explore. The team also tested a separate group of wild-type mice, which showed no improvement in sociability after taking psilocybin, indicating that the drug's benefits may only apply to those with pre-existing behavioral alterations.",
  "summary": "New research provides evidence that a single dose of psilocybin can durably increase social behavior in mice with genetic traits related to autism. The findings indicate that these behavioral benefits occur even if the mice are anesthetized during the drug’s acute effects, which suggests the subjective psychedelic experience is not strictly required. The study was […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}