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Effects of hallucinogen drugs on the brain
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Hallucinogens are a group of drugs that can alter perception, feelings, and thoughts. They have been used by people for over centuries, mostly in religious rituals. Hallucinogens can cause images, sensations, or hallucinations that may seem real, though they are not. Besides hallucinations, there are other short term effects of hallucinogens including nausea, changes in sense of time, increased heart rate, or intensified feelings and sensory experiences. There is little known about long term effects for using hallucinogens. Researchers do know that repeatedly using the drug PCP, can result in effects that continue a year or even longer after using. The effects are memory loss, anxiety, weight loss, speech problems, or depression and suicidal thoughts/feelings. Although rare, Flashbacks …show more content…
Hallucinogens can easily be found in mushrooms, plants, or just human made. People can use hallucinogens through snorting, absorbing through the lining in the mouth, or smoking. It can also be consumed raw or dried, by swallowing as liquids, tablets/pills, brewed into drinks, or through injecting. There is evidence to prove that people can develop a tolerance to them or that certain hallucinogens can be addictive. Although, LSD is not considered an addictive drug because of it not causing an uncontrollable drug seeking behavior. It does produce tolerance; therefore, the doses repeatedly get higher to achieve the same effect for some users who take the drug. After taking these drugs, the effects can begin within 20 to 90 minutes. They can also last as long as 6 to 12 hours .Throughout research, there has been said that there is no government approved medications for treating the addiction of hallucinogens. There was and still is more time needed for more research to see if behavioral therapists can help treat or are effective enough for addiction to
At high doses of PCP, there is a drop in blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing. This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, rolling of the eyes, and dizziness. High doses of PCP can also cause seizures, coma, and death. Psychological effects at high doses include hallucinations. PCP can cause effects that mimic the full range of symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions, paranoia, disordered thinking, a sensation of distance from one's environment, and catatonia. Speech is often slurred or distorted to the point of no understanding. (www.nida.com)
Boyer, B., Boyer, R., & Basehart, H. 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism M. Hamer, Ed.. England: Oxford University Press.
... in the action of hallucinogens has provided a focal point for new studies. Is there a prototypic classical hallucinogen? Until we have the answers to such questions, we continue to seek out the complex relationship between humans and psychoactives.
A psychedelic drug is one that alters the brains perception and cognition. Drugs of this sort can cause visual hallucinations. People have said it feels as though everything is alive, breathing, dancing. Of course, like any drug, there is the possibility of having a “bad trip.” This is where things seemingly go wrong. The person tripping feels trapped, frightened, and extremely uncomfortable. The
Psychoactive drugs are defined as chemical substances that affect the brain’s functioning, causing changes in behavior, mood and consciousness. There are several different types of psychoactive drugs;, some of these include: stimulants, depressants, and most importantly hallucinogens or psychedelics. Humans have used these different types of drugs since before recorded history. These drugs are used for a variety of reasons such as medical purposes, religious practices, spiritual growth, and even recreation. Worldwide, about 200 million people use some type of illicit drug, most commonly cannabis or better known as marijuana. The use of illicit drugs is more most frequent among males and younger people (WHO).
Native Americans are probably the people most known for their use of psychedelic drugs. Being a very religious people, their entire society revolved around the spirit world, and some believed that access to this world was possible by eating certain plants that were abundant in their surroundings. In what are now Mexico and the Southwestern United States, tribes familiarized themselves with mescaline, the active ingredient in the peyote cactus. Another drug that was used by tribes in these and many other areas was psilocybin, the active hallucinogenic ingredient of the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana and other psilocybe and conocybe species that grow on the pacific coast of North, South, and Central America. Ritual use of psilocybin and mesca...
Ecstasy’s effects can last up to 24 hours. The drug produces immediate side effects, and some—such as confusion, depression, sleep problems, anxiety, and paranoia—can occur weeks after it is taken (NIDA, Community Drug Alert Bulletin on Club Drugs, 2000).
Varsha Dutta’s article explains that “The word ‘hallucinogen’ is alternately used as psychedelic, and has its roots in Greek, which literally means ‘to wander in the mind.’ Since these drugs do not actually produce true h...
The primary use for the mushrooms is for recreational purposes as psychedelic hallucinations are produced once eaten. Upon ingestion of a mushroom containing the compound, the psilocybin is immediately dephosphorylated into psilocin which is responsible for creating the “trip” or high that people experience. The chemical then travels to the brain where it begins to prevent the reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin, increasing its activity. Also, because psilocin is structurally similar to serotonin, it binds to receptors, amplifying the effects. This is what ultimately causes the hallucinations however, technically it is more of an overwhelming distortion of typical senses creating unrealistic perception. Other areas affected are hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex which are associated with dreaming. Specific emotional regions of the brain are chemically activated, adding to the complex hallucinogenic feeling. The high is completely subjective to the individual however common experiences are established based on the reports of drug users. The high last three to eight hours yet, because the dephosphorylated chemical alters sense of time, a user may feel it last much longer. Thirty minutes after ingestion auditory, visual and tactile senses are noticeably changed. People report
The many different illegal drugs around the world can all have harmful effects to the human body, but that does not stop many people from using them. Some people will do anything they can to get ahold of these dangerous drugs. Within the many different illegal drugs, there are a certain kind of drugs called hallucinogens. Hallucinogens are a class of drugs that cause hallucinations—profound distortions in a person's perceptions of reality. The most common hallucinogen is called Lysergic acid, more commonly referred to as “LSD” or just simply “acid”.
Psychedelic drugs, also known as hallucinogens, are drugs that primarily alter perception and cognition in the brain. They include, “LSD [Lysergic Acid Diethylamide] (“acid”), psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline (found in peyote), ibogaine, salvia, and DMT (found in ayahuasca)” (2). The most commonly used hallucinogen is LSD.
The most common hallucinogen is LSD. This is a synthetic compound that is manufactured anywhere. Other hallucinogens are MDMA, PCP, Ketamine and DXM.
Pre-Columbian Mexicans used many substances, from tobacco to mind-expanding (hallucinogenic) plants, in their medicinal collections. The most fascinating of these substances are sacred mushrooms, used in religious ceremonies to induce altered states of mind, not just drunkenness.
Hallucinogenic drugs are psychoactive substances that have been used by ancient cultures, but are feared by the modern day man. Hallucinogens are also known as psychotomimetic, psychedelics, or when used spiritually, entheogens.