Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻💻🧬<p>Chemical tweaks to a <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/toad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>toad</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/hallucinogen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>hallucinogen</span></a> turns it into a potential <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/drug" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>drug</span></a><br>Targets a different <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/serotonin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>serotonin</span></a> receptor from other popular <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/hallucinogens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>hallucinogens</span></a>.<br>The Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius), also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, secretes a <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/psychedelic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>psychedelic</span></a> compound that likes to bind to a different <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/serotoninreceptor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>serotoninreceptor</span></a> subtype called <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/5HT1A" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>5HT1A</span></a>. And that difference may be the key to developing an entirely distinct class of <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/antidepressants" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>antidepressants</span></a>. <br><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/variant-of-a-toad-based-psychedelic-can-act-as-an-antidepressant/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">arstechnica.com/science/2024/0</span><span class="invisible">5/variant-of-a-toad-based-psychedelic-can-act-as-an-antidepressant/</span></a></p>