A potential depression treatment might someday come from trip-inducing toad venom.
Unlike some other psychedelics, however, 5-MeO-DMT appears to activate 5-HT1A receptors.
The team studied 5-MeO-DMT using various methods of analysis, including cryogenic electron microscopy.
A colorado river toad (Incilius alvarius). The rarely seen amphibian is native to parts of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.Image: Vladimir Wrangel (Shutterstock)
From there, they created modified versions of it to better understand how it interacts with these receptors.
The teams findings werepublishedWednesday in Nature.
Studies like this one represent just the beginning of our efforts to understand these substances.
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