Volume 10 No 2 (2012)
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A Comparative Review of the NeuroPsychopharmacology of Hallucinogen-Induced Altered States of Consciousness: The Uniqueness of Some Hallucinogens
Ümit Sayin
Abstract
Altered states of consciousness induced by hallucinogens (H-ASC) is still a vaguely understood phenomenon. Taken the diverse
psychological effects they exert, the main mechanism of action of hallucinogens; LSD, ibogaine, THC, PCP, MDMA,
methamphetamine, mescaline, psilocybin and DMT, of which psychological effects are discussed in the article, are not properly
understood and explained by the modern methods of neuroscience due to the lack of vigorous research. The involvement of
some receptors, such as, 5-HT2 (and probably other 5-HT receptors), glutamate and dopamine receptors, adrenergic and
cannabinoid receptors, is one of the mechanisms, however it is not easy to explain such incongruent psychological effects by
only receptor and neurotransmitter systems alone, since H-ASCs have, sometimes, their own unity and gestalt, unfolding the
subconscious, in the “voyages” they induce, although the perception may, or may not, be distorted depending on the person,
and “set and setting”
Keywords
Altered states of consciousness, Hallucinogen, LSD, ibogaine, PCP, THC, MDMA, Methamphetamine, Mescaline, Psilocybin, DMT
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