Neurochemistry

“Lysergic acid diethylamide (lsd) is one of the most potent psychoactive agents known, producing dramatic alterations of consciousness after submilligram (≥20 μg) oral doses. following the accidental discovery of its potent psychoactive effects in 1943, it was supplied by sandoz laboratories as an experimental drug that might be useful as an adjunct for psychotherapy, or to give psychiatrists insight into the mental processes in their patients. the finding of serotonin in the mammalian brain in 1953, and its structural resemblance to lsd, quickly led to ideas that serotonin in the brain might be involved in mental disorders, initiating rapid research interest in the neurochemistry of serotonin. lsd proved to be physiologically very safe and nonaddictive, with a very low incidence of adverse events when used in controlled experiments. widely hailed by psychiatry as a breakthrough in the 1950s and early 1960s, clinical research with lsd ended by about 1970, when it was formally placed into schedule 1 of the controlled substances act of 1970 following its growing popularity as a recreational drug. within the past 5 years, clinical research with lsd has begun in europe, but there has been none in the united states. lsd is proving to be a powerful tool to help understand brain dynamics when combined with modern brain imaging methods. it remains to be seen whether therapeutic value for lsd can be confirmed in controlled clinical trials, but promising results have been obtained in small pilot trials of depression, anxiety, and addictions using psilocybin, a related psychedelic molecule.”

“The classic serotonergic hallucinogens, or psychedelics, have the ability to profoundly alter perception and behavior. these can include visual distortions, hallucinations, detachment from reality, and mystical experiences. some psychedelics, like lsd, are able to produce these effects with remarkably low doses of drug. others, like psilocybin, have recently been demonstrated to have significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and addiction that persist for at least several months after only a single therapeutic session. how does this occur? much work has recently been published from imaging studies showing that psychedelics alter brain network connectivity. they facilitate a disintegration of the default mode network, producing a hyperconnectivity between brain regions that allow centers that do not normally communicate with each other to do so. the immediate and acute effects on both behaviors and network connectivity are likely mediated by effector pathways downstream of serotonin 5-ht2a receptor activation. these acute molecular processes also influence gene expression changes, which likely influence synaptic plasticity and facilitate more long-term changes in brain neurochemistry ultimately underlying the therapeutic efficacy of a single administration to achieve long-lasting effects. in this review, we summarize what is currently known about the molecular genetic responses to psychedelics within the brain and discuss how gene expression changes may contribute to altered cellular physiology and behaviors.”

“Magic mushrooms have accompanied man for thousands of years. formerly they were used for religious and culture purposes. those fungi belong mainly to the genera conocybe, copelandia, panaeolus, psilocybe and stropharia. a number of these fungal species produce substances, like psilocybin, psilocin, ibotenic acid or muscimol. because of their chemical similarity to naturally occurring neurotransmitters like serotonin and gaba these substances, after ingestion, affect brain neurochemistry and by this induce hallucinations. this mini review presents the influence of psilocybin, psilocin, ibotenic acid and muscimol on the nervous system. also the effects of the above mentioned substances on emotion and mental health of people are discussed.”