Hallucinogens - PCP and Ketamine

Question 1

PCP and Ketamine are ____ drugs

Answer 1

designer

Question 2

PCP and Ketamine are both ____ ____ hallucinogens

Answer 2

dissociative anesthetic hallucinogens

Question 3

When a drug is classified as a dissociative anesthetic hallucinogen, it can be qualified as either _____ and/or _____, however it also can have some ____ properties

Answer 3

“depressant” (sedative, pain)

“hallucinogen”

stimulant properties

Question 4

Dissociative anesthetic hallucinogens, such as PCP and Ketamine, have separate perception from ______. The ____ properties are not well understood.

Answer 4

sensation

euphoric

Question 5

What were PCP and Ketamine originally designed for?

Answer 5

surgery - however the side-effects were only apparent after if was put to use

Question 6

In Canada, PCP and Ketamine are Schedule __ while they are Scheduled __ in the US. Both these drugs have also been used in psychiatric research to study ______

Answer 6

Schedule I in Canada: “date rape drug”

Schedule II in US: veterinary use

study schizophrenia

Question 7

What are the general effects of the dissociative anesthetic hallucinogens?

Answer 7

• catalepsy (loss of sensation and consciousness-inability to move)
• amnesia
• analgesic (pain killer - eliminate sensation)

Question 8

What are the intake methods for ketamine? and time for action?

Answer 8

insufflation
inhalation
injection (10-60min)
ingestion (2hrs)

Question 9

What are the intake methods for phencyclidine (PCP)? and time for action? How long does it last?

Answer 9

insufflation (1 min)
inhalation (5min)
*some people say that it lasts anywhere between 30 minutes to 18 hours

Question 10

PCP - what is embalming fluid?

Answer 10

a yellowish oil solution that cigarettes or joints are dipped in

Question 11

PCP - what is angel dust?

Answer 11

ground crystals and sprinkled on oregano or parsley and smoked - aka killer joints when mixed with marijuana

Question 12

In low doses, what do PCP and Ketamine do with regards to serotonin and dopamine?

Answer 12

they are reuptake inhibitors - they disengage the reuptake transporter

they are also partial agonists for serotonin and dopamine - more readily available at the synapse

Question 13

In high doses, PCP and ketamine have what effect on acetylcholine?

Answer 13

antagonistic:

• blocks nicotinic = muscle contractions effected, making the person flacid
• muscarinic = memory deficits, arousal, analgesia

Question 14

At both low and high doses, PCP and ketamine have what effects on the NMDA (glutamate) receptors?

Answer 14

antagonist - disrupts LTP by emulating “stopper” signal which results in disordered learning - this is why trauma is such a serious thing when dealing with these drugs, because fear is learned (fear system is hyper activated)

Question 15

Why is PCP used recreationally?

Answer 15

at low doses it makes you feel good cause of dopamine and serotonin - however, it is the high doses that aren’t good

Question 16

With PCP and Ketamine, the effects are dose dependant. What happens at low doses?

Answer 16

drunk-like state, numbness in extremities, acts as an ANESTHETIC effect

Question 17

With PCP and Ketamine, the effects are dose dependant. What happens at moderate doses?

Answer 17

(5-10 mg) - disconnectedness from environment, dissociativeness from body - has DEPRESSANT effects (this is not depression, this is depressive!)

Question 18

With PCP and Ketamine, the effects are dose dependant. What happens at high doses?

Answer 18

• sympathomimetic
• hallucinations
• lingering schizophrenic symptoms that can last for 2 months

Question 19

Taken in high doses, what specific effect can ketamine have?

Answer 19

“keyhole” experience - simulating near-death

Question 20

Taken in high doses, users might experience lingering schizophrenic symptoms that can last for 2 months, what might these include, and what hypothesis does this support?

Answer 20

• delusions, paranoia, disordered thinking, catalepsies and catatonia, sparse/garbled speech, micro/macro scopia
• results support “glutamate hypothesis” of schizophrenia (stimulant effects)

Question 21

T/F: PCP and Ketamine can have some long term amphetamine-like effects

Answer 21

true

Question 22

PCP and Ketamine can have what three effects?

Answer 22

1. “superhuman” strength and “invulnerability”
2. Megalomania
3. Long-Term depression

Question 23

Why are these drugs said to have effects of “superhuman” strength and “invulnerability”?

Answer 23

the analgesia allows for excessive exertion, this usually results in severe physical injury to self

Question 24

“delusional fantasies of omnipotence, power, perception and the believe in a ‘god-like’ status”

Answer 24

megalomania - effect of ketamine and PCP

Question 25

With chronic, prolonged use of ketamine, an individual can have a pathological decreased fear of ____

Answer 25

death

Question 26

Long term depression is a result of PCP and Ketamine usage. Under what mechanism is this occurring?

Answer 26

chronic antagonism of the glutamate receptors leads to deficits in memory, speech, logic, and MDD-like symptoms

Schizophrenic-like psychosis

Question 27

What can prevent tolerance of PCP and Ketamine?

Answer 27

separation of administration by days

Question 28

What occurs with prolonged regular intake of PCP and ketamine?

Answer 28

requires higher doses to achieve effect

Question 29

What kind of tolerance effect can ketamine have?

Answer 29

accrued - permanent tolerance to psychedelic effects - ONLY WITH INJECTION

Question 30

What is the physical dependance found in PCP? Ketamine?

Answer 30

PCP - effects on dopaminergic centers, BUT unsure if withdrawal symptoms are associated with brain-damage or not

Ketamine - no physical dependence documented

Question 31

Psychological dependance in PCP and Ketamine?

Answer 31

cravings have been observed, related to euphoria

Question 32

The mechanisms of Ketamine may help us better understand and possibly help treat ___

Answer 32

MDD

Question 33

When ketamine is used as psychedelic therapy for depression, what did results show after one dose?

Answer 33

alleviation of depressive symptoms within hours and it lasted more than a week

Question 34

When ketamine is used to treat depression, one dose diminishes suicidal ideation in 40 minutes. What does the Glucocorticoid theory have to do with this?

Answer 34

inhibition of glutamate at NMDA allows for glutamate to bind elsewhere, and facilitate BDNF