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NIDA Home > Publications > Research Reports    

Research Report Series - Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs



Glossary


Acid: Common street name for LSD.

Angel dust: Common street name for PCP.

Cerebral cortex: Region of the brain responsible for cognitive functions including reasoning, mood, and perception of stimuli.

Dissociative anesthetic: Compound, such as phencyclidine or ketamine, that produces an anesthetic effect characterized by a feeling of being detached from the physical self.

DXM: Common street name for dextromethorphan.

Flashback: Slang term for HPPD (see below).

Glutamate: A neurotransmitter associated with pain, memory, and response to changes in the environment.

Hallucinogen: A drug that produces hallucinations - distortion in perception of sights and sounds - and disturbances in emotion, judgment, and memory.

HPPD: Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder; the spontaneous and sometimes continuous recurrence of perceptual effects of LSD long after an individual has ingested the drug.

Ketamine: Dissociative anesthetic abused for its mind-altering effects and sometimes used to facilitate sexual assault.

Locus ceruleus: Region of the brain that receives and processes sensory signals from all areas of the body.

Neurotransmitter: Chemical compound that acts as a messenger to carry signals or stimuli from one nerve cell to another.

NMDA: N-methyl-D-aspartate, a chemical compound that reacts with glutamate receptors on nerve cells.

PCP: Phencyclidine, a dissociative anesthetic abused for its mind-altering effects.

Persistent psychosis: Unpredictable and long-lasting visual disturbances, dramatic mood swings, and hallucinations experienced by some LSD users after they have discontinued use of the drug.

Robo: Common street name for dextromethorphan.

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that causes a very broad range of effects on perception, movement, and the emotions by modulating the actions of other neurotransmitters in most parts of the brain.


References


Abraham, H.D.; Aldridge, A.M.; and Gogia, P. The psychopharmacology of hallucinogens. Neuropsychopharmacology 14: 285-298, 1996.

Aghajanian, G.K., and Marek, G.J. Serotonin and hallucinogens. Neuropsychopharmacology 21: 16S-23S, 1999.

Backstrom, J.R.; Chang, M.S.; Chu, H.; Niswender, C.M.; and Sanders-Bush, E. Agonist-directed signaling of serotonin 5-HT2c receptors: differences between serotonin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Neuropsychopharmacology 21: 77S-81S, 1999.

Carroll, M.E. PCP and hallucinogens. Advances in Alcohol and Substance Abuse 9(1-2): 167-190, 1990.

Christophersen, A.S. Amphetamine designer drugs: an overview and epidemiology. Toxicology Letters 112-113: 127-131, 2000.

Frankenheim, J., and Lin, G.C. Hallucinogenic Drugs. In: Craighead, W.E., and Nemeroff, C., eds. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Neuroscience. New York: John Wiley & Sons, in press.

Hofmann, A. LSD: My Problem Child. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Javitt, D.C., and Zukin, S.R. Recent advances in the phencyclidine model of schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 148:1301-1308, 1991.

Sanders-Bush, E. Neurochemical Evidence That Hallucinogenic Drugs are 5-HT2c Receptor Agonists: What Next? In: Lin, G.C., and Glennon, R.A., eds. Hallucinogens: An Update. National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Monograph No. 146. NIH Pub. No. 94-3872. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994.

Ungerleider, J.T., and Pechnick, R.N. Hallucinogens. In: Lowenstein, J.H.; Ruiz, P.; and Millman, R.B., eds. Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, Second Edition. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1992.


Index

Letter from the Director

What are hallucinogens?

What are dissociative drugs?

Why do people take hallucinogens?

What are the facts about dissociative drugs?

Where can I get more scientific information on hallucinogens and dissociative drugs?

Glossary and References

 

Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs Research Report Cover



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