Table of Contents
What is a hallucinogen psychology?
hallucinogen, substance that produces psychological effects that tend to be associated with phenomena such as dreams or religious exaltation or with mental disorders such as schizophrenia.
What is the primary neurotransmitter affected by hallucinogens?
Classic hallucinogens are thought to produce their perception-altering effects by acting on neural circuits in the brain that use the neurotransmitter serotonin (Passie, 2008; Nichols, 2004; Schindler, 2012; Lee, 2012).
Do users of hallucinogens hear voices see images and feel things that do not exist?
Hallucinogens change the way the brain interprets time, reality, and its environment. This may result in the user hearing voices, seeing images, and feeling things that do not exist. The use of hallucinogens leads to increased heart rate and blood pressure and can also cause heart and lung failure.
How do risk and protective factors influence drug abuse?
Risk factors can increase a person’s chances for drug abuse, while protective factors can reduce the risk. Please note, however, that most individuals at risk for drug abuse do not start using drugs or become addicted. Also, a risk factor for one person may not be for another.
What are the side effects of taking hallucinogens?
Hallucinogens cause many side effects besides just the experience of distorted episodes. Both classic hallucinogens and dissociative drugs are known for creating mood swings that come and go swiftly in the affected person.
What are the ways that drugs can cause impaired judgment?
Addiction is another way that drugs can cause impaired judgment. When a person has an addiction, she will often go to great lengths to continue using the drug.
Why are hallucinogens not considered to be addictive drugs?
Use of some hallucinogens also produces tolerance to other similar drugs. For example, LSD is not considered an addictive drug because it doesn’t cause uncontrollable drug-seeking behavior. However, LSD does produce tolerance, so some users who take the drug repeatedly must take higher doses to achieve the same effect.
How does dissociative hallucinogens work in the brain?
Dissociative hallucinogenic drugs interfere with the action of the brain chemical glutamate, which regulates: 1 pain perception 2 responses to the environment 3 emotion 4 learning and memory