Effect of psychoactive drugs on animals
Psychoactive drugs, such as alcohol, caffeine, amphetamine, mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), cannabis, chloral hydrate, theophylline, IBMX and others, have been studied on certain animals.
[4] Cedar waxwings have been observed flying while intoxicated by alcohol from overwintered hawthorn pommes ("haws"), resulting in crashes that lead to their deaths.
[5] Wild chimpanzees in Bossou, Guinea, have been observed consuming fermented sap from the raffia palm (Raphia hookeri) from 1995 to 2012.
This increased aggression is linked to the odor of ethanol, which enhances sensory neuron activity related to aggression-promoting pheromones and boosts attraction to citrus scents.
[8] In a study using D. melanogaster, researchers found that mating increases neuropeptide F (NPF) levels in male flies, while sexual deprivation decreases them.
These findings suggest that the NPF-NPF receptor axis reflects the state of the fly's reward system and influences behavior.
However, a 2024 study found that oriental hornets fed sugary solutions containing 1% to 80% ethanol for a week showed no adverse effects on behavior or lifespan.
In 1995, a NASA research group repeated Witt's experiments on the effect of caffeine, benzedrine, marijuana and chloral hydrate on European garden spiders.
NASA's results were qualitatively similar to those of Witt, but the novelty was that the pattern of the spider web was quantitatively analyzed with modern statistical tools, and proposed as a sensitive method of drug detection.
[15] Further, Nathanson fed tobacco hornworm larvae with leaves sprayed with such psychoactive drugs as caffeine, formamidine pesticide didemethylchlordimeform (DDCDM), IBMX or theophylline.
It is therefore understood that caffeine has a natural function, both as a Biopesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings, thus giving it a better chance of survival.
Cabbage leaves were sprayed with caffeine solutions and fed to Veronicella cubensis slugs and Zonitoides arboreus snails.
[29] Bottlenose dolphins were administered LSD in the 1960s as part of NASA-funded experiments by John C. Lilly to study human–animal communication.
[30][31][32] Macaque monkeys administered with the antipsychotics haloperidol and olanzapine over a 17–27 month period showed reduced brain volume.
The study also indicated that the reinforcing (addictive) and stimulating effects of these drugs might be related to how they interact with specific areas in the brain.
When subordinate monkeys acted as intruders, their self-administration of low-dose cocaine increased, and their dose-response curve shifted to the left.
Brain glucose metabolism measurements revealed differences between dominant and subordinate monkeys, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms of these opposing behavioral effects.
Understanding the neural and behavioral mechanisms at play in these scenarios can lead to more effective, personalized treatments for individuals with cocaine use disorders.
One study conducted by the Research Society on Alcoholism concluded that when given a moderate dose of ethanol, zebrafish became more active and swam faster.
[40] A study conducted by the Aquaculture Institute looked into the effects of cannabis oil on the metabolism and immune system of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
