Psychosis, psychedelic substance misuse and head injury: A case report and 23 year follow-up.
Musa Sami, Katie Piggott, Claire Coysh, Antonio Fialho
Brain Injury 2015 DOI: 10.3109/02699052.2015.1046491 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A 57-year-old gentleman with a previous severe brain injury |
| Keywords | Neuropsychiatry Traumatic brain injury Psychotic disorder Mental illness Severe mental disorder Altered reality perception Persistent psychosis Head injury Brain trauma Cerebral injury Post-injury effects Drug-induced psychosis Substance-induced psychosis Psychedelic-induced psychosis Cannabis-induced psychosis LSD-Induced Psychosis Drug-precipitated psychosis Drug-use related psychosis Neurological psychiatry Psychiatric neurology Brain-behavior research Tbi drug interaction Tbi-drug potentiation Synergistic risk Vulnerability interaction Drug-tbi comorbidity Combined risk factors |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key findings | Heavy psychedelic substance misuse may potentiate a transition to psychosis in patients with prior brain injury, as this case suggests. |
Abstract
This study describes the case of a 57 year old gentleman with a previous severe brain injury who developed a severe psychotic disorder 19 years after the injury. This appears to have been precipitated by heavy psychedelic substance use, including cannabis, salvia divinorum, ketamine, LSD, cocaine and DMT amongst others. The psychosis remained in the absence of drug intoxication and was associated with prominent apathy, lack of concern and abulia. This study discusses the heavy psychedelic substance misuse possibly potentiating a transition to psychosis in this individual. Little work has been undertaken in this area as substance misuse has traditionally been an exclusion criteria for investigating psychosis in this patient group. It is suggested that psychedelic substance misuse should be investigated as a risk factor for psychotic illness in patients with brain injury, as this case clearly suggests.