How Do Hallucinogens Cause Psychiatric Disorders?

In an attempt to gain a position as a psychologist, I will be discussing schizophrenia and the disorder’s casual factors, associated symptoms, the areas of the brain it affects, and the neural basis of the disorder. I will continue on to discuss appropriate drug therapies. In addition I will also be reviewing two separate case studies, each on a different disorder. I will be examining each problem from the perspective of a bio psychologist. I will define the patient’s diagnosis at length I will relate each case to the nature-nurture theory, and talk about any helpful drug interventions or solutions for each disorder. When talking about drug intervention, it is also important to discuss the positive and

It has been shown that individuals turn to drugs that elicit a mood or level of arousal consistent with their mode of dealing with stress. Those who deal with stress by confrontation choose drug stimulants. Those who withdrawal from stress chooses opiate drugs. Others who deal with stress through activities related to imagery or fantasy turn to hallucinogens. These differences between behavior and drug preference are thought to be biochemically driven.

These substances are in turn broken down in the body into a great many more

The article discusses research on the use of hallucinogens for medical therapies applicable to cancer, drug addiction, and psychological problems. Studies being undertaken at Johns Hopkins University are discussed. Johns Hopkins' research on hallucinogens includes assessment of the drug's psychospiritual effects among volunteers and its use in easing psychiatric and behavioral disorders in those so affected.

Currently there are no cures for schizophrenia, but the symptoms are helped by taking antipsychotic medication. The symptoms experienced by those with schizophrenia are grouped in to three categories: negative symptoms, positive symptoms, and cognitive symptoms (Regier 1993, p.92). The positive symptoms include, hallucinations, delusions, unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking, agitated body movements. Negative symptoms include, flat affect, reduced pleasure in everyday life, difficulty sustaining tasks, and reduced speech. Cognitive symptoms include, disruption in executive functioning and working memory, as well as reduced ability to concentrate. The etiology of schizophrenia is still debated by psychologists and neuroscientists, but factors such as neuroanatomy, and environmental influences are believed to play a key role. A genetic predisposition to schizophrenia has been established by researchers, but it remains unclear what causes the phenotype to be expressed. The most agreed upon cause of schizophrenia refers to the diathesis-stress model, which explains schizophrenia as a response to an individual’s allostatic load becoming too much for the brain to cope with. Another popular explanation amongst neuroscientists is the dopamine

There are many substances in this world that are used and abused in order to achieve pleasing psychoactive effects. Two substances of such nature that are abused in today’s society are alcohol and LSD. Alcohol is a liquid that is derived from the fermentation of grains and/or fruit (7). LSD is an ingestible form of lysergic acid which is derived from a fungus called ergot. Both of these drugs are drastically different with minimal similarities, primarily because alcohol is classified as a depressant and LSD is classified as a hallucinogen. Even though these drugs differ in many ways, they are commonly used in unison.

Schizophrenia is one of psychology’s most interesting mental illnesses. Each case of schizophrenia is so different in the symptoms and way it’s expressed, which is what makes it such an intriguing topic. As said in the paper “Nature vs. Nuture: Schizophrenia” by Gil Benahmou, nature can definitely be greatly attributed to schizophrenia. However, schizophrenia in itself is not caused by misuse of certain drugs, as mentioned in the paper. In fact, there is a completely separate diagnosis for this type of psychosis, called substance or medication induced psychotic disorder. This disorder is separated from general schizophrenia because this type of psychotic disorder is specifically brought on by drugs, while general schizophrenia has risk factors

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the different effects of different types of hallucinogenic drugs on the human brain. The paper will focus specifically on LSD, DMT, and Shrooms as they are amongst the strongest types of drugs in their category. The chemical structure of the different drugs and the way they alters chemicals in the brain will be examined as well. This topic is worth investigating because if you or anyone you know is interested in trying LSD, DMT, and Shrooms, it is important to know the effects they will have on your brain if you are unaware or don’t

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

That is usually never the case, unless you are the 1% that it does happen to and that is an idea you should have considered before you blindly took the drug. But most importantly psychedelics usually do not trigger mental disorders. Just because you took mescaline once in high school does not mean that you randomly developed schizophrenia. Another extremely popular misconception is that you will “re-trip” or have flashbacks that make you feel like you are tripping years after you took the drug. That is completely false, people believe that psychedelics, mainly LSD is stored in your spinal fluid and can leak over time, but that is also untrue. Even though a few ideas about psychedelics are not real does not mean that the drug is safe and a walk in the park. If you want to experiment you should research the subject for yourself and see if it is right for you, don’t just take it because your friends think it cool, educate

“Hallucinations and voices that caused schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have been stopped with the use of new medications”. (MHT, 2) “Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms,” (MFMI, 4). “Another advantage of these medications is an increased understanding of the causes of mental illness. Scientists investigate the results of the medications, and through these results, they have learned a great deal about the working of the brain system.” (MFMI, 4) The use of new drugs has made it possible for mentally ill persons to live a normal life.

Drugs have been around for a very long time. They are used for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include relaxation, socialization, curiosity, stress relief, or a form of escapism. However, most people don’t know the threats and danger that it can cause to the body. In this paper, we are going to examine the changes that happen inside the brain due to the effects of different drugs. We will look closely at how drugs such as hallucinogens, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis affect an individual psychologically. I will explain the origin of the drugs, how a person feels while on the drug, how the drugs

Since then conservative ideology and federal laws have prevented research or studies into entheogens and the human mind. To understand whether or not entheogens can produce religious experiences it important to understand the parameters and definitions that make up the typology of religious experiences, the effects of entheogens like lysergic acid diethylamide on the human mind, and previous case studies that tried to understand the relationship between entheogens and religious experience.

An individual’s behavior and emotion becomes chemically altered often resulting in dependency, aggression, onset of diseases and poor judgement. This poses a dangerous threat to the neurotransmitters since they have multiple jobs in different parts of the brain. Drugs of abuse are able to exert influence over the brain reward pathway either by directly influencing the action of dopamine within the system, or by altering the activity of other neurotransmitters that exert a modulatory influence over this pathway. These drugs are often powerful and have been known to trigger schizophrenic behavior and can also cause a person to cease breathing, for example hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin are able to artificially stimulate the serotonin receptor (Sapolsky, 2005).

Persons who suffer from untreated and/or undiagnosed mental illness are prone to turn to substance abuse in their attempts to self-medicate. Due to the mood-altering effects of substances, those who may experience anxiety, depression, and psychotic symptoms, tend to find temporary relief from such symptoms in their drug usage, however the adverse effects