Psychedelics

Question 1

What are the two forms of Psychedelics?

Answer 1

Phenethylamines

ex: Mescaline active ingredient in plant

Indoleamines

ex: LSD

DMT

Question 2

What are the typical routes of administration and timecourse for LSD and DMT?

Answer 2

LSD

ROA: Consume orally

Timecourse: 8-12 hours dependent on the dose

DMT

ROA: typically smoked

Short-lived 1/2 life= 15 min

Question 3

What are the effects of LSD?

Answer 3

Onset (within 1 hour)

Amplification of colors and visual images seen with eyes closed

Plateau (within 2 hours)

time slows (seem infinite) and visual hallucination intensify or auditory hallucinations

Peak (within 2-3 hours)

Visual images are out of reality

Some experience synesthesia ( blending of sensing)

Euphoria/dysphoria –> experience both on SET and Setting

Depersonalization/ego disintegration

Disorganization of thought

Offset (2 hours or more)

symptoms subside

Question 4

True or False: A dose of 100 micrograms and 200 micrograms will result in a very different drug effect?

Answer 4

False

The effect will be similar with both dosages it is just that 200 micrograms will have a lasting effect.

Question 5

How do we know the mechanism of action of psychedelics?

Answer 5

Place two antagonist into the system and perform statistically significant difference tests.

Question 6

What is a resting state network?

What is special about the default mode network?

Answer 6

Resting-state network is instead of using drugs in studies to learn about how the drugs works, investigators are using a measure of RSNs and psychedelics to learn about how the brain works and how activity in the brain constructs our “consciousness” and what alternative states look like

Default mode network shows increased activity when you’re not doing anything and decrease activity when you engaging in tasks.

Question 7

How are human imaging studies being used to the effects of psychedelics?

Answer 7

Give a patient a placebo and LSD and they found that the V1 connects increases when the increase of visual hallucination.

Question 8

How are psychedelics being used to study how the brain works?

ex: to construct our sense of self

Answer 8

Question 9

What occurs if a subject creates tolerance?

True or False: There is evidence of craving or reinforcement (dependence).

Answer 9

Reduce hallucinations within a few days with continued use

False

No evidence of craving or reinforcement

Question 10

What are the risks of hallucinations?

Answer 10

The bad trips

and

flashback of the bad trips.

(little or no abuse potential compared to other drugs)