Salvia divinorum induces body awareness changes comparable to metamorphic symptoms in the Alice in Wonderland syndrome
J. Hesselink
Clinical Sciences Research and Reports 2019 DOI: 10.15761/csrr.1000119 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Salvia divinorum |
| Key points | Argues that the macro-somatognosia induced by Salvia divinorum extracts resembles key symptoms of Alice in Wonderland syndrome and can be discussed through neurophenomenological concepts of body schema and cortical spreading depression. |
Abstract
Modern rituals based on the use of shamanic plants are becoming more popular in the European countries and in the USA since the last decades. Salvia divinorum (SD) is such a plant, for ages and still used by the Mazatec shamans for initiation purposes. SD contains a great number of diterpenes of which Salvinorin A is quite remarkable, as to date it is the strongest psychedelic plant compound we know of. Its high affinity to the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) however does not explain all of its effects. We will highlight a special effect related to the sudden and drastic changes in body schema after administering SD extracts, metamorphic symptoms, especially macro-somatognosia, in which one feels that the body or its parts are growing taller or larger, which resemble one of the key symptoms of the Alice in Wonderland syndrome. We will discuss these phenomena in the light of the neurophenomenological concepts of our body schema and cortical spreading depression. *Correspondence to: Jan M Keppel Hesselink, Institute for Neuropathic Pain, Bosch en Duin, Netherlands, E-mail: jan@neuropathie.nu
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on salvia divinorum, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total synthesis of the hallucinogenic neoclerodane diterpenoid salvinorin A. | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The claustrum's proposed role in consciousness is supported by the effect and target localization of Salvia divinorum. | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Total Synthesis of (-)-Salvinorin A. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Salvia Divinorum: entrSalvia divinorum: Entre la prohibición y la construcción de su conocimientoe a proibição e a construção do seu saber | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Formal Synthesis of (±)-Salvinorin A via Gold(I) Catalysis. | 2023 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |