This is an unofficial archive of PsychonautWiki as of 2025-08-11T15:14:44Z. Content on this page may be outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate. Please refer to the original page for the most up-to-date information.
Deliriant: Difference between revisions
>Dextromethorphan |
>Dextromethorphan No edit summary |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
The term deliriant was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S. Gold to distinguish these drugs from [[psychedelic]]s and [[dissociative]]s such as [[LSD]] and [[ketamine]] respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid states produced by other types of [[hallucinogen]].<ref>Duncan, D. F., and Gold, R. S. (1982). Drugs and the Whole Person. New York: John Wiley & Sons</ref> The term is generally used to refer to anticholinergic drugs. | The term deliriant was introduced by David F. Duncan and Robert S. Gold to distinguish these drugs from [[psychedelic]]s and [[dissociative]]s such as [[LSD]] and [[ketamine]] respectively, due to their primary effect of causing delirium, as opposed to the more lucid states produced by other types of [[hallucinogen]].<ref>Duncan, D. F., and Gold, R. S. (1982). Drugs and the Whole Person. New York: John Wiley & Sons</ref> The term is generally used to refer to anticholinergic drugs. | ||
Despite the fully legal status of several common deliriant plants, substances which fall under this class are largely unpopular as recreational drugs due to the severe and unpleasant nature of the hallucinations produced.<ref>Grinspoon, Lester and Bakalar, James B. (1997). Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered. The Lindesmith Center</ref> In addition to their potentially dangerous mental effects (accidents during deliriant experiences are common),<ref>Datura Items | http://www.lycaeum.org/mv/mu/datura.html</ref> certain deliriants are poisonous and can cause death due to tachycardia-induced heart failure and hyperthermia even in small doses.<ref>Kathleen M Beaver, Thomas J Gavin, Treatment of acute anticholinergic poisoning with physostigmine, The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 5, September 1998, Pages 505-507, ISSN 0735-6757, 10.1016/S0735-6757(98)90003-1. (ScienceDirect) | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675798900031</ref> | Despite the fully legal status of several common deliriant plants and drugs, substances which fall under this class are largely unpopular as recreational drugs due to the severe and unpleasant nature of the hallucinations produced.<ref>Grinspoon, Lester and Bakalar, James B. (1997). Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered. The Lindesmith Center</ref> In addition to their potentially dangerous mental effects (accidents during deliriant experiences are common),<ref>Datura Items | http://www.lycaeum.org/mv/mu/datura.html</ref> certain deliriants are poisonous and can cause death due to tachycardia-induced heart failure and hyperthermia even in small doses.<ref>Kathleen M Beaver, Thomas J Gavin, Treatment of acute anticholinergic poisoning with physostigmine, The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 5, September 1998, Pages 505-507, ISSN 0735-6757, 10.1016/S0735-6757(98)90003-1. (ScienceDirect) | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675798900031</ref> | ||
==Method of action== | ==Method of action== | ||
Deliriants work via anticholinergic activity and their [[antagonist|antagonistic]] action on [[acetylcholine]] receptors. Inhibition through this mechanism leads to decreased levels of acetylcholine, causing delirium, sedation and intensely realistic hallucinations. However, the precise role of these interactions and how they result in the deliriant experience continues to remain elusive. | Deliriants work via anticholinergic activity and their [[antagonist|antagonistic]] action on [[acetylcholine]] receptors. Inhibition through this mechanism leads to decreased levels of acetylcholine, causing delirium, sedation, tachycardia and intensely realistic hallucinations. However, the precise role of these interactions and how they result in the deliriant experience continues to remain elusive. | ||
It is theorized that [[cholinergics]] (such as [[racetams]]) can provide relief from the mechanisms of anticholinergics,<ref>The use of a scopolamine model to study the potential nootropic effects of aniracetam and piracetam in healthy volunteers. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22281851</ref> such as reversing their [[Amnesia|amnesiatic]] and [[psychosis]]-inducing effects. This is possible by restoring typical concentrations of acetylcholine.<ref>Reversal of scopolamine-induced amnesia and alterations in energy metabolism by the nootropic piracetam: implications regarding identification of brain structures involved in consolidation of memory traces. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3690290</ref><ref>Effects of acute doses of oxiracetam in the scopolamine model of human amnesia. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7870912</ref> | It is theorized that [[cholinergics]] (such as [[racetams]]) can provide relief from the mechanisms of anticholinergics,<ref>The use of a scopolamine model to study the potential nootropic effects of aniracetam and piracetam in healthy volunteers. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22281851</ref> such as reversing their [[Amnesia|amnesiatic]] and [[psychosis]]-inducing effects. This is possible by restoring typical concentrations of acetylcholine.<ref>Reversal of scopolamine-induced amnesia and alterations in energy metabolism by the nootropic piracetam: implications regarding identification of brain structures involved in consolidation of memory traces. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3690290</ref><ref>Effects of acute doses of oxiracetam in the scopolamine model of human amnesia. | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7870912</ref> | ||