Altered States of Consciousness

Drugs are either….• Agonists-drug that can

combine w/ receptor on a cell to produce a physiological response.

Antagonists-drug that counteracts the effects of another drug

• Reuptake inhibitors-blocks release of serotonin

If a drug is used often, tolerance is created for the drug.

Thus you need more of the drug to feel the same effect.

If you stop using a drug you can develop withdrawal symptoms.

Drugs: Depressants• Alcohol effects

• motor skills • judgment• memory • increases aggressiveness• reduced self awareness• Represses REM.

• Barbiturates Drugs that depress the activity of the central nervous system, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment. Date Rape Drugs

• Opiates (Narcotics) Opium and its derivatives (morphine and heroin) depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. They are highly addictive. Mimic Endorphins

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Drugs: Stimulants• Caffeine and nicotine increase heart and

breathing rates and other autonomic functions to provide energy. Speeds up metabolism

• Amphetamines stimulate neural activity, causing accelerated body functions and associated energy and mood changes, with devastating effects.

• Ecstasy or Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a stimulant and mild hallucinogen. – It produces a euphoric high and can damage

serotonin-producing neurons, which results in a permanent deflation of mood and impairment of memory.

– Big Problem with dehydration• Cocaine induces immediate euphoria

followed by a crash & depression. Crack, a form of cocaine, can be smoked. Other forms of cocaine can be sniffed or injected.

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Case Study: Cocaine & Neurons

• By binding to the sites that normally reabsorb neurotransmitter molecules, cocaine blocks reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

• The extra neurotransmitter molecules therefore remain in the synapse, intensifying their normal mood altering effects and producing a euphoric rush.

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LSD Experience• 1943 Alan Hofmann found LSD by accident:

Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to stop my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and to go home, as I was seized by a particular restlessness associated with a sensation of mild dizziness. On arriving home, I lay down and sank into a kind of drunkenness which was not unpleasant and which was characterized by extreme activity of imagination. As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed there surged upon me an uninterrupted stream of fantastic images of extraordinary plasticity and vividness and accompanied by an intense kaleidoscope-like play of colors. The condition graduate passed off after two hours.

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Drugs: Hallucinogens• Hallucinations

– Sensory experiences without sensory stimulus

• LSD– (lysergic acid diethylamide) powerful

psychodelic drug (ergot fungus) that is also known as acid.

– Likely to produce flashbacks• MARIJUANA (Cannabis)

– THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol)is the major active ingredient in marijuana (hemp plant) that triggers a variety of effects, including mild hallucinations

– Affects of marijuana are usually reversible after one month

– "Chronic Use" does lead to memory loss & cognitive impairment

– "Regular Users" can experience a high with less of the product 7

Section 5: Which is True or False?1. Alcohol is classified as a depressant, even in small amounts.2. The discomfort when off of a drug is called tolerance.3. LSD is considered a powerful hallucinogen.4. Smoking marijuana can distort time, hence it is classified as a

stimulant5. The main ingredient in ecstasy is THC6. Heroin is classified as a depressant.7. Cocaine has short-lasting effects because it prevents reuptake

of certain neurotransmitters.8. Because nicotine produces a relaxing effect it is classified as a

depressant8

1- T, 2- F, 3-T, 4-F, 5-F, 6-T, 7-T, 8-F,