Cortical 5HT2A receptors are largely expressed in layer 5 pyramidal neurons and appear to play a pivotal role in brain function in that they gate top-down descending inputs to local cortical microcircuits. There is evidence that they may play a role in depression in that the number of these receptors is increased in some people with depression and the augmenting action of atypical...
February 27, 2015M. Friedman, Marcelo R. Malakooti, Craig M. Smith et al.
25I-NBOMe (25-I) is a novel synthetic agonist of the 5-HT2A receptor. It is used recreationally for its psychedelic properties similar to LSD. Side effects include altered mental status, sympathomimetic symptoms, serotonin syndrome and multiple organ injury. We report a case of delayed type B lactic acidosis after ingestion of 25-I. A 16-year-old male presented after being found obtunded. He...
There has been growing clinical, public, and media awareness and concern about the availability and potential harmfulness of so-called ‘legal highs’, which are more appropriately called new or novel psychoactive substances (NPS). A cat-and-mouse process has emerged wherein unknown chemists and laboratories are producing new, and as yet nonproscribed, compounds for human consumption; and as soon...
Ende der siebziger Jahre zeigte sich Albert Hofmann schwer enttäuscht vom Schicksal der von ihm entdeckten »Wunderdroge«: LSD – mein Sorgenkind lautete der Titel des damals erschienenen Erinnerungsbuchs. Hatte man die Substanz noch in den sechziger Jahren als Königsweg zur Erkundung der Psyche gefeiert, folgte bald der Rückschlag: Halluzinogene wurden flächendeckend verboten, ein Effekt des...
The NeurohospitalistJanuary 2015Mark J Burish, Katie L Thoren, Maura Madou et al.
Although traditional hallucinogenic drugs such as marijuana and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are not typically associated with seizures, newer synthetic hallucinogenic drugs can provoke seizures. Here, we report the unexpected consequences of taking a street-bought hallucinogenic drug thought to be LSD. Our patient presented with hallucinations and agitation progressing to status...
Drawing on research papers, archives and scientific memoirs, this paper reconstructs the psychedelic research projects developed in Prague between 1954 and1974, situating psychiatric research in Communist Czechoslovakia within the transnational context of Cold War science. It traces attempts to induce experimental psychosis as a means of exploring the aetiology of schizophrenia; as well as the...
Edited by two preeminent scholars, this book provides coverage of the policy issues related to the increasingly diverse treatments, practices, and applications of psychedelics. Hallucinogenic substances like LSD, mescaline, peyote, MDMA, and ayahuasca have a reputation as harmful substances that are enjoyed only by recreational users committing criminal acts. But leading international...
In a big yawn of death life is extinguished, ennui of existence comes to an end. The implacable pain evokes a cascade of emotions so does the idea of death and dying. Pain is not always somatic, but would also signify loss of dignity, incontinence, disfigurement, cognitive impairment, nutritional deprivation and immobility. Palliative care is a neglected aspect of cancer care. There are just a...
In 1954, at the age of 55, Henri Michaux was a well-published writer and a seasoned traveller. As a young man in the 1930s and 1940s, the Belgian poet and painter had voyaged across East Asia, Central and South America, which resulted in a large portion of his oeuvre: well-known accounts, both real and imaginary, of his trips abroad, fictional ethnographies, and numerous volumes of poetry....
Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder is a disorder of uncertain aetiology occurring mainly after ‘classical’ hallucinogen use ( ie mescaline, psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine and LSD) use. Here, the authors describe the case of a boy with similar symptoms developing after he reported using cannabis seven times.