Fig. 4: Studies on antidepressant potential: expression of neuroplasticity-related IEGs, dendritogenesis and tail suspension test (TST).

A Experimental setup for in vivo gene expression experiments after 5-halo-DMT administration to mice (10 mg/kg, i.p.). B-D Effects on mRNA Bdnf levels in the PFC, HIP and mPFC, respectively. E-H Effects on mRNA levels of Arc, Egr-1, Egr-2 and Egr-3 in the PFC; and I-L HIP. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 vs. control group (One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test or Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s test). The discontinuous line represents the corresponding saline levels. Data are expressed as means ± SEM of fold changes in mRNA levels vs. the corresponding saline group. Samples were tested in duplicate. N = 6 mice/group. M Cell culture and experimental scheme of mouse primary mixed cortical cells for dendritogenesis experiments. N Representative images of cortical neurons without treatment (control) and exposed to 5-Br-DMT (5 µM). O Number of crossings, primary dendrites and branches assessed by Sholl analysis; and P total dendritic length of control vs. 5-Br-DMT-treated (5 μM) cortical cells. Data are represented as means ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, vs. control (Student’s t-test, two-sided). N = 3 cell cultures (40 neurons per culture). Q Representation of the TST protocol. Images source: adapted from Servier Medical Art, CC BY 3.0, via https://smart.servier.com and [52]. R Immobility time in the TST in the first day (baseline) and test day of saline-treated animals and 5-Br-DMT-treated (10 mg/kg, i.p.) animals 24 h after administration. ns = not significant, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs. control group; mixed-effects analysis with Bonferroni’s test. N = 20 mice/group.