Hallucinogen
[3] The term hallucinate dates back to around 1595–1605, and is derived from the Latin hallūcinātus, the past participle of (h)allūcināri, meaning "to wander in the mind.
[8] Because of the multi-faceted phenomenology brought on by hallucinogens, efforts to create standardized terminology for classifying them based on their subjective effects have not succeeded to date.
Most recently, there has been a movement in nonscientific circles to recognize the ability of these substances to provoke mystical experiences and evoke feelings of spiritual significance.
[12] Despite several attempts that have been made, starting in the 19th and 20th centuries, to define common phenomenological structures (i.e., patterns of experience) brought on by classical psychedelics, a universally accepted taxonomy does not yet exist.
"[23] Dissociative symptoms include the disruption or compartmentalization of "...the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity or perception."[24]p.
[25] In a 2004 paper, Daphne Simeon offered "...common descriptions of depersonalisation experiences: watching oneself from a distance (similar to watching a movie); candid out-of-body experiences; a sense of just going through the motions; one part of the self acting/participating while the other part is observing;...."[26] The classical dissociatives achieve their effect through blocking binding of the neurotransmitter glutamate to NMDA receptors (NMDA receptor antagonism) and include ketamine, methoxetamine (MXE), phencyclidine (PCP), dextromethorphan (DXM), and nitrous oxide.
[30] Some dissociatives can have CNS depressant effects, thereby carrying similar risks as opioids, which can slow breathing or heart rate to levels resulting in death (when using very high doses).
Injury from falling is also a danger, as nitrous oxide may cause sudden loss of consciousness, an effect of oxygen deprivation.
Because of the high level of physical activity and relative imperviousness to pain induced by PCP, some deaths have been reported due to the release of myoglobin from ruptured muscle cells.
This concern is partly due to William E. White, the author of the DXM FAQ, who claimed that dissociatives definitely cause brain damage.
In 1989, John Olney discovered that neuronal vacuolation and other cytotoxic changes ("lesions") occurred in brains of rats administered NMDA antagonists, including PCP and ketamine.
[37] Deliriants, as their name implies, induce a state of delirium in the user, characterized by extreme confusion and an inability to control one's actions.
The term was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S. Gold to distinguish these drugs from psychedelics and dissociatives, such as LSD and ketamine respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid states produced by the other hallucinogens.
[40][41] These tropane alkaloids are poisonous and can cause death due to tachycardia-induced heart failure and hyperthermia even in small doses.
[46] In the 1970s, Frida G. Surawicz and Richard Banta published a review of two case studies where hallucinogenic drug use appeared to play a role in "delusions of being changed into a wolf" (sometimes referred to as "lycanthropy," or being a "werewolf").
They described a patient whose delusion was thought to be caused by an altered state of consciousness "brought on by LSD and strychnine and continued casual marijuana use."
While both central cases described white male patients from contemporary Appalachia, Surawicz and Banta generalized their conclusions about a link between hallucinogens and "lycanthropy," based on historical accounts that reference myriad types of pharmacologically-similar drug-use alongside descriptions of "lycanthropes.
[48] After World War II there was an explosion of interest in hallucinogenic drugs in psychiatry, owing mainly to the invention of LSD.
Aldous Huxley's 1953 essay The Doors of Perception, describing his experiences with mescaline, and R. Gordon Wasson's 1957 Life magazine article ("Seeking the Magic Mushroom") brought the topic into the public limelight.
[52] This greatly reduced the clinical research about LSD, although limited experiments continued to take place, such as those conducted by Reese Jones in San Francisco.
"Savage et al. (1962) provided the earliest report of efficacy for a hallucinogen in OCD, where after two doses of LSD, a patient who suffered from depression and violent obsessive sexual thoughts experienced dramatic and permanent improvement (Nichols 2004: 164).
[58] The Netherlands previously allowed psilocybin mushrooms to be sold, but in October 2007 the Dutch government moved to ban their sale following several widely publicized incidents involving tourists.
Transition rates were not affected by sex, country of the study, hospital or community location, urban or rural setting, diagnostic methods, or duration of follow-up.
LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin cause their effects by initially disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Certain hallucinogens, such as PCP, act through a glutamate receptor in the brain which is important for perception of pain, responses to the environment, and learning and memory.
[72] The researchers stated that their findings supported the view that "a heterogeneous disorder like schizophrenia is unlikely to be modeled accurately by a single pharmacological agent.
"[72] Classical hallucinogens (psychedelics) can be divided into three main chemical classes: tryptamines (such as psilocin and DMT), ergolines (such as LSD), and phenethylamines (such as mescaline).
