hallucinogen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As Hallucinogens are psychoactive substance called the changes in thinking and perception effect and cause thus a greatly altered perception of reality. The common feature of hallucinogenic drugs that gives them their name is that they can cause hallucinations ; Sensory perceptions that do not correspond to reality, but are triggered and influenced by emotional factors. However, this is only a single aspect of a state of consciousness that changes qualitatively very differently depending on the drug and dosage .

The state of intoxication triggered by hallucinogens is also known colloquially as a trip , and the negative, fearful high as a horror trip .

Cultural history

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Psilocybin

The practice of using hallucinogenic substances for medicinal and religious purposes probably dates back to the dawn of human history. The cultic use of the toadstool and mushrooms containing psilocybin is documented in several parts of the world 7000 years ago, and this has been preserved up to the present in the context of Siberian and Central American shamanism . The psychoactive properties of the thorn apple were already known in ancient Greece. Up until the 17th century, henbane was often added to beer in Central Europe in order to enhance its effect.

To this day there are numerous communities in which the regulated use of hallucinogenic substances plays a central role, such as the Santo Daime Church and the Native American Church . But individuals also use hallucinogens privately to research their own psyche with psychonautical means or to experience spiritual states.

Classification

The hallucinogens include psychoactive representatives of the psychedelics , dissociatives and delirium . Known or frequently used substances or groups of substances are:

pharmacology

Demarcation

Substances other than the so-called hallucinogens can cause hallucinations or altered sensory perceptions in a similarly serious manner. These include alcohol , carbon dioxide , cocaine and even tobacco with high nicotine concentrations.

The drug intoxication induced by hallucinogens usually lasts for several hours, depending on the drug and dosage, with the phase of greatest intensity (the plateau ) being relatively short compared to the total duration of the intoxication. But it can also lead to profound emotional changes that cannot be reversed.

Psychedelics

Psychedelics develop their effects mainly through agonistic activity on the 5-HT 2A receptor and presumably also on the 5-HT 2C receptor . The disruption of the normal function of certain control loops causes a restriction of the filter function of the thalamus ; Internal and external stimuli as well as all kinds of unconscious content can subsequently rise unhindered into the cerebral cortex and appear in this way as visions in the consciousness. Furthermore, there is an overactivation of the locus caeruleus and, as a result, large areas of norepinephrine release , which leads to a state of mental transcendence and z. Sometimes it can even bring about intense spiritual experiences . Drugs that can induce this psychedelic state are also known as entheogens , especially if they are used traditionally.

Dissociatives

Most dissociative drugs act primarily as NMDA - antagonists and call in this way by interrupting the normal integration of contents of consciousness a psychotomimetic state with lively pseudo hallucinations and out of body experiences forth. Also, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors blocked, their impact is not known at present on the psyche. Many dissociatives also act dose-dependently as agonists at the σ1 receptor , which is believed to play a role in schizophrenia and other forms of associative loosening, among other things . The consumption of dissociatives can lead to states that are perceived by the consumer as a spiritual and psychedelic experience. A special case is salvinorin A, which binds primarily to the K opioid receptor , which means that the dissociative component is less pronounced.

Delirium

Almost all delirious drugs have an anticholinergic effect through antagonism at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and, in intoxicating doses, have corresponding effects. Confusion, restlessness, amnesia and real hallucinations that are not recognized as such can occur, which means that there is a high risk of accidents when intoxicated due to phantom actions. There are no states that consumers perceive as a psychedelic experience. In contrast, the muscimol from the fly agaric does not have an anticholinergic effect, but rather as an agonist on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and on the GABA A receptor . The effect is similar in parts to that of alcohol , which can also cause delirious states.

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Hallucinogen  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

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  2. Entry on hallucinogens. In: Römpp Online . Georg Thieme Verlag, accessed on February 18, 2017.
  3. Forensic investigation of drugs ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Thuringia State Criminal Police Office @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thueringen.de
  4. Andrea Blätter: Intoxication and ecstasy between normality and ostracism . In: Federal Center for Political Education (ed.): The Parliament . No. 3, January 17, 2005 ( HTML [accessed November 7, 2010]).
  5. Erowid : Psilocybe Mushroom History , 2005.
  6. ^ Psychoactives in History - Erowid, Fire. "Psychoactives in History: A Sample of Some of the Earliest Evidence of the Use of Psychoactives". Erowid Extracts. May 2003; 4: 12-17.
  7. Drugs of Abuse: Psychedelic Agents ( MS PowerPoint ; 1.5 MB) - Southern Methodist University
  8. ^ Thomas S. Ray, Olivier Jacques Manzoni: Psychedelics and the Human Receptorome. In: PLoS ONE. 5, 2010, p. E9019, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0009019 .
  9. a b Edelrausch in the laboratory ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Neuro Culture Lab @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.neuroculturelab.com
  10. Valle, Marta et al .: Inhibition of alpha oscillations through serotonin-2A receptor activation underlies the visual effects of ayahuasca in humans . In: European Neuropsychopharmacology . March 26, 2016. doi : 10.1016 / j.euroneuro.2016.03.012 .
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  12. Spirituality at the push of a button? - Heise Telepolis
  13. Ketamine associated psychedelic effects and dependence (PDF; 68 kB) - Singapore Medical Association
  14. Ketamine Psychedelic Therapy (KPT): A Review of the Results of Ten Years of Research ( Memento from May 26, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) - Eleusis - Alternative Addiction Treatment Center
  15. a b Sigma, PCP, and NMDA Receptors ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.0 MB) - National Institute on Drug Abuse @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archives.drugabuse.gov
  16. DXM FAQ: Physiological Effects of DXM - Erowid
  17. A German ketamine FAQ - drogenring.org