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Hallucinogenic drugs or hallucinogens are drugs that can alter sensory perceptions, elicit alternate states of consciousness, or cause hallucinations. This is a broad category that covers many disparate substances, the class of pharmacological agents which primarily change the subjective qualities of perception, thought or emotion. Hallucinogens act as neurotransmitter mimics , often as agonists or antagonists at neurotransmitter receptors . The effects of hallucinogens are clearly different from stimulants like cocaine or amphetamines, although hallucinogens do often increase alertness or activity.
The broad term "hallucinogen" is often used as a synonym for the class of psychedelics ( LSD, magic mushrooms, mescalineMescaline Chemical name3,4,5-Trimethoxy-phenethylamine or2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine Chemical formulaCHNO Molecular mass211. 26 g/mol Melting point128 129 °C CAS numbers54-04-6 SMILESNCCC1 CC(OC) C(OC)C(OC) C1 Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxypheneth), especially in the current scientific literature. Other classes include the empathogenThe term empathogen was coined in 1983 by Ralph Metzner to denote chemical agents inducing feelings of empathy. The best known empathogen is MDMA ("ecstasy"). Other empathogens include MDA, MDEA, and MBDB. See also entactogen Empathogens.s or entactogenEntactogen is a descriptive name applied to psychoactive drugs with effects similar to those of MDMA. The term was coined by David E. Nichols as an alternative to " empathogen", owing to the potential for improper association of the latter with negative cs ( MDMA), the deliriant s (Datura, tropane alkaloids), or the dissociatives ( DXM, PCPPneumocystis carinii pneumonia, disease phencyclidine, a drug also known as Angel Dust Probabilistically checkable proof, a notion in the theory of computational complexity theory Partido Comunista del Peru, a. Shining Path Post correspondence problem, an).
1 EtymologyEtymology is the study of the origins of words. Some words have been derived from other languages, possibly in a changed form (the source words are called etymons . Through old texts and comparisons with other languages, etymologists try to reconstruct th and alternative terms
A variety of different, imprecise terms have also been used to refer to drugs of this type. One of the first terms used in English to describe these substances was "Phantastica", coined in 1928 by Louis Lewin in his ground-breaking monograph of the same name. The term was applied to plants that "bring about evident cerebral excitation in the form of hallucinations, illusions and visions ... followed by unconsciousness or other symptoms of altered cerebral functioning." Lewin complained that the word "does not cover all that I should wish it to convey", and indeed with the advent of the discovery of LSD and the widespread scientific experimentation with it and similar drugs, numerous supposedly improved terms were constructed, including hallucinogen, psychedelic, psychotomimetic, psycholytic, schizophrenogenic, cataleptogenic, mysticomimetic and psychodysleptic.
Of all the terms created, "hallucinogen", meaning roughly "generating delusions and false notions" (particularly in the form of sensory distortions), probably enjoys the most widespread and accepted usage. "Psychedelic", meaning "mind manifesting" and emphasizing the introspective potential of the drugs, and " entheogen", meaning "becoming divine within", are also widely used, particularly among those with positive attitudes towards their usage. In some cases, authors who otherwise use these terms have felt themselves pressured to use "hallucinogen" or "psychotomimetic" (meaning "mimicking psychosis") in scientific publications. The terms " empathogen" and " entactogen" are also applied to certain drugs (notably those similar to MDMA) that are also sometimes classed as hallucinogens.
